Cecil Aldin, pictured with one of his dogs. (credit: www.mediastorehouse.com)
Our March 2025 Rare Ceramics, Jewellery & Collectables auction will feature a large collection of the work of renowned artist and book illustrator Cecil Aldin, comprising numerous prints, illustrated books and more.
Early Life
Born in 1870 in Slough, Aldin began drawing at an early age. He briefly studied art at the studio of Albert Joseph Moore in Kensington, then left to study animal anatomy at the National Art Training School in South Kensington and later attended a summer school at Midhurst, Sussex, run by teacher and animal painter William Frank Calderon.
This exceedingly rare ‘Land and Water’ flyer will be featured with an estimate of £50-£100.
In 1890, his first drawing was sold, featuring in the publication The Building News, and by 1892, Aldin was working with The Illustrated London News, living in Chelsea. While there, he often drew in the London Zoological Gardens, and he produced advertising and illustration work, along with a series of nursery pictures – inspired by the births of his son and daughter – and sets of prints depicting various horse and hound hunting scenes.
This set of four prints is from Cecil Aldin’s ‘The Fallowfield Hunt’ series. Comprising ‘The Hunt Breakfast at the Three Pigeons’, ‘Breaking Covert’, ‘The Death’ and ‘The Hunt Supper’, it carries an estimate of £50-£100.
Titled ‘The Twelfth’, part Cecil Aldin’s ‘British Sports and Pastimes’ series, this original print will be featured with an estimate of £60-£120.
Aldin also joined the Chelsea Arts Club, exhibiting in Paris in 1908 and 1909. He then moved, in 1910, to Sulhamstead in West Berkshire, becoming Master of the South Berkshire Hunt.
World War One
During the First World War, the military needed horses, and Aldin became a Remount Purchasing Officer, taking charge of an Army Remount Depot and setting up several others. His successful establishment of an experimental one staffed only by women led to further Ladies’ Army Remount Depots being set up.
Estimated at £50-£100 is this pair of original Cecil Aldin prints, two ‘Dutch Girls and Dutch Boys’.
In 1917, his son died at Vimy Ridge, a tragedy that affected him greatly, in turn influencing his work.
Among the illustrated books to be offered is this lot of three; ‘The Black Puppy Book’, ‘The Red Puppy Book’ and ‘The White Puppy Book’. It’s estimated at £40-£80.
In February 1919, the Imperial War Museum’s Women’s Work Sub-Committee asked to purchase two of Aldin’s wartime paintings. He parted with one, but deemed the other substandard; titled A Land Girl Ploughing, it had been painted with leftover paint on an old, re-used canvas. Aldin opted instead to reproduce it properly, and a member of the Women’s Land Army attended his studio in Pangbourne to model for the painting. It remains of the most recognised depictions of the Women’s Land Army in the First World War.
Post-War Work
Postwar, Aldin organised pony and dog shows and continued his artistic work. He produced large equestrian portraits, book and magazine illustrations, hunting scene prints and studies of dogs, as well as illustrated books and prints of old inns, manor houses and cathedrals.
This lot of six painting books, comprising ‘The Farm-Yard’, ‘The Poultry Book’, ‘The Cat and Dog Book’, ‘The Doggy Book’, ‘The Puppy Book’ and ‘The Cecil Aldin Painting Book’ will be featured with an estimate of £60-£120.
Comprising ‘The Bunch Book’ by James Douglas, ‘My Dog’ by Maurice Maeterlinck, ‘Dogs of Everyday’ by Patrick R. Chalmers, ‘How to Draw Dogs’, ‘Dogs of Character’, ‘An Artist’s Models’ and ‘The Foolish Little Frog’ by Percy French, illustrated by John Hassall, this lot of seven books will be featured with an estimate of £50-£100.
Suffering with arthritis, Aldin retired to the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, hoping the warmer climate would alleviate it, though he continued working. He died in 1935, after suffering a heart attack aboard a ship en-route to England.
To be featured with an estimate of £50-£100 is this lot of four books, comprising ‘Old Inns’, ‘Old Manor Houses’, ‘Old London Coaching Inns’ and ‘Cathedrals and Abbey Churches of England’.
This lot of four books, comprising ‘The Bobtail Puppy Book’, ‘Farmyard Puppies’, ‘The Mongrel Puppy Book’ and ‘The White Kitten Book’ carries an estimate of £50-£100.
These are just a sample of Cecil Aldin’s prints, books and more to be featured in our March 2025 Fine Art auction. Take a look at our auction catalogue to view the rest of the extensive collection.