Stubbs, George (1724-1806) - Red deer stag & hind 1792

Painted in 1792, Red Deer Stag and Hind is one of George Stubbs's most quietly magnificent works — a study in stillness, power, and the beauty of the natural world. Where Stubbs is remembered chiefly as a horse painter, this painting reveals the full breadth of his genius: the stag and hind are rendered with the same anatomical precision and painterly reverence he brought to his equestrian portraits, set against a luminous English woodland of oak, dappled light, and deep atmospheric distance. It is a painting about the dignity of wild creatures in their natural habitat — and it has never looked better than it does now.

Restoration & Remastering

The original reproduction carried the familiar toll of time: a heavy yellow-brown veil, compressed shadows, and colours dulled far from what Stubbs painted in 1792. Our work was guided by a single question: what did this painting look like when Stubbs first stepped back from the easel?

• Brown/amber cast removed — the yellow-brown veil was lifted, recovering cooler sky blues, subtle pink-grey clouds, more natural deer colouration, and cleaner atmospheric depth
• Shadow detail recovered — information lost in the dark areas beneath the trees, around the trunks, and under the deer was reopened so forms become visible again
• Deer anatomy restored — muscle definition, shoulder structure, neck transitions, and facial modelling were recovered so the stag and hind feel genuinely alive
• Antlers clarified — edges sharpened, contrast increased, and the ivory colour recovered — without making them look artificially sharp
• Landscape depth corrected — foreground, middle ground, and background were separated again, dramatically increasing the sense of depth and space
• Sky drama enhanced — cloud volume increased, subtle sunlight effects introduced, and tonal range expanded so the sky feels larger and more luminous
• Foliage complexity added — the tree canopy, originally a series of dark masses, gained leaf separation, branch visibility, and light filtering through the foliage
• Fur rendering improved — the deer coats now show directional fur texture, highlights along the back, and more realistic transitions around the neck and shoulders
• Lighting modelled — stronger highlights, deeper shadows, and better form modelling make the deer feel genuinely three-dimensional
• Cinematic dynamic range added — richer blacks, brighter highlights, and stronger colour separation, while fully respecting the character of the original

The single biggest transformation is the oak tree. In the original it reads as a dark silhouette; in the remaster, the branching structure emerges, individual foliage masses separate, and light moves through the canopy. The tree becomes a character in the painting — which is entirely in keeping with Stubbs, who was as gifted a landscape painter as he was an animal painter. Restoring that tree recovers the balance he intended between the creatures and their world.

The result is faithful to Stubbs's composition and intent, but optimized for modern display, large-format printing, and contemporary viewing. It still feels unmistakably like George Stubbs — but with 230 years of dust, fading, yellowed varnish, and poor reproductions stripped away.

Elliott Best Remastered prints are produced on premium archival museum stock for the finest colour fidelity and longevity.