The following description has been prepared entirely by the current owner, Roberts S. Fastov, Esq., and, at the collector’s request, has not been edited by Sloans & Kenyon

Note 1): Bonheur was regarded during her lifetime as the premier animalier painter of France and the most popular animal painter, male or female, of the 19^th Century in the world. Her growing reputation was solidified and provided her with the reputation of the greatest animal painter, when she exhibited “The Horse Fair” in 1853 (now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). An undated, authentic Rosa Bonheur painting entitled “Boeufs dans les regions montagneuses,” translated as “Oxen in the Highlands,” which was apparently not exhibited by Bonheur at a formal exhibition and may not have been sold during her life time, was probably unsigned and not estate stamped, is listed at p. 282 on the list of authentic Bonheur paintings in “Rosa Bonheur” by Anna Klumpke (Bonheur’s (Auto) Biography) The first English translation of this book, “Rosa Bonheur—Sa Vie, Son Oeuvre” (Rosa Bonheur—Her life and work) by the unorthodox French painter’s intimate companion, Anna Klumpke,” together with an introduction, was written by Gretchen Van Slyke, University of Michigan Press. 1997. Ms. Van Slyke stated: “Bonheur, like George Sand--to whom she was often compared--defined herself outside of the social and legal codes of her time. To the horror and bewilderment of many, she earned her own money, managed her own property, wore trousers, hunted, smoked, and lived in retreat with female companions in a little chateau near Fountainebleau named The Domain of Perfect Affection.” Klumpke, a young American artist, only lived with Bonheur at the end of Bonheur’s life after Nathalie Micas, Bonheur’s life-long female companion died and published her biography of Bonheur in 1908, based on what Bonheur advised her and she observed. A relatively significant number of authentic Bonheur paintings were not signed by Bonheur and were not estate stamped, as appears to be the case with the painting that is being offered at auction. In all events, the high level of skill and detailed, meticulous, life-like execution of the oxen and the nature of the rocky mountain pasture and the painting’s composition clearly manifest Bonheur’s hand in this unequivocally authentic Bonheur work.

Note 2) Compare the above photograph of “Oxen in the Highlands” with Bonheur’s “The Weaning of the Calves” (1879). Oil on canvas. 25 5/8 in. x 32 in. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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Also, compare the above photograph of in. Oxen in the Highlands” with Bonheur’s less complex composition “Cattle In The Pyrenees.” Oil on canvas. 26 in. x 32.50 in., sold by Sotheby’s New York for $21,600, per Askart.com on 01/28/2006 as lot 357. The foregoing considerations warrant the conclusion that the presale estimate of ($10,000-$15,000) is reasonable and justifiable.