[Teams at the Plough]

• Artist: Henry William Banks Davis
• Medium: Engraving- By George Zofei
• Publish Details: London: Henry Graves & Co., March 1st, 1873
• Measurements: 20 5/8 x 41 1/4 in. (sheet)
• Conditions: Good Condition- Light foxing in sky, possibly due to adhesive. 

A distinguished work by the esteemed British Royal Academician Henry William Banks Davis, celebrated for his masterful pastoral landscapes and sensitive portrayals of farm animals.

This handsome image captures the very essence of 19th-century rural England: powerful draft horses straining at the plow in the foreground, their muscles and determination rendered with the keen observation that only a true animal painter could achieve. To the right, young colts gambol in innocent frolic—yet even their play carries narrative weight, for these same colts will one day take their place in the harness, continuing the timeless cycle of agricultural life.

Davis's Royal Academy credentials ensure enduring scholarly recognition, while his gift for infusing working animal subjects with dignity and spirit makes his landscapes perpetually sought after. The composition balances grandeur with intimacy: the sweep of the cultivated earth and the sky beyond give classical landscape structure, while the individualized horses—both the seasoned workers and the untrained young stock—invite close, rewarding contemplation.

A quintessential Victorian pastoral, preserved at the moment when traditional horse-drawn agriculture still defined the British countryside.