Huntsman Taking a Toss by Joseph Crawhall (1861-1913) depicts a fox running after a man on a horse, which the horse appears to be attempting to loosen the reigns. Behind the fox is a loosely captured fenceline and in red chalk is written 'To Reid Junior From Crawhall Junior'. It is possible the person Crawhall refers to is Andrew Reid, another prominent Scottish artist of the time. The animals are in solid and bold colours with distinct chalk lines, while the man is in partial colour, while the rest of his figure is simply outlined and not coloured in. Distinct white strokes of watercolour capture the angle of the street and the movement of the horse, adding to the excitement and cartoon nature of the piece. 

In much of his work, Crawhall captures animals with a sense of individual character, seen here in the way the fox is depicted in an animated form. Horses were another common subject of his work, painting them in motion or standing with a figure on their backs. This was reflective of his familiarity with the animals as he was brought up horseback riding and attending horse fairs and races.

Joseph Crawhall RSW, 1861-1913

Born in Morpeth, Northumberland, Crawhall was largely self-taught, apart from spending two months at the Atelier Aimé Morot in Paris in 1882. He relied on observation, memory and learning from the simplicity of Japanese art, then much in vogue. After meeting E.A. Walton in 1879 he became closely associated with the Glasgow Boys. Crawhall, Walton and James Guthrie developed a friendship and spent several seasons painting together in Scotland and Lincolnshire, and abroad. Crawhall visited Morocco in 1884, returning there often over the next nine years, and in Tangier he became a close friend of John Lavery.