Heywood Hardy (British, 1843-1933). Oil on canvas painting titled “The Fresh Team,” depicting a rural inn with two teams of horses. Signed along the lower left. Hardy was well known for his equestrian paintings and depictions of animals as well as landscapes. While originally a musician, Hardy eventually decided to leave that career behind to become a painter. Stemming from a family of artists, his first two paintings were accepted for exhibition at The Royal Academy in 1864. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to London and beginning his long career of studying wildlife and horses. He was a founder of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers as well as a member of the Royal Institute of Oil painters and an associate of the Royal Watercolour Society. Unframed; height: 20 in x width: 30 in. Framed; height: 27 1/2 in x width: 37 1/2 in.