Catalogue for the auction of
Cricket, Football, Golf & Sporting Memorabilia
To be held on Friday, Saturday & Sunday
4th, 5th & 6th July 2025
Lot 1346
Estimate: £1000/1500
Ernest Prater (Fl. 1897-1914). Excellent original watercolour heightened with body colour of a footballer performing an athletic high kick of a football. The player is depicted wearing a bright red jersey, white shorts with blue belt, green and pink topped socks, and ankle length boots of the period. Signed by the artist to the lower right corner, undated but probably early 1900s. The artwork measures 9.25”x11.5”, mounted, framed and glazed in later frame with hand-printed title to lower mount border ‘Ernest Prater Exh. 1897-1914’. Overall 16.5”x19”. Very good condition with vibrant colours.
Ernest Prater (1864-1950) was a respected war artist, illustrator of children’s books and photographer, who served as the war correspondent for ‘The Sphere’ during the Boer War and also worked for the ‘Black and White Budget’ and ‘The Graphic’ newspapers. He contributed illustrations to the ‘Strand Magazine’, ‘Pall Mall Gazette’ and ‘Boy’s Own Paper’, specialising in illustrating boys’ adventure stories for authors including G.A. Henty, R.M. Ballantyne and W.H.G. Kingston, and collaborated with Sidney Paget, the illustrator for Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ books. His work ‘A Dash from the Scrimmage’ was his first to be exhibited at The Royal Academy, in 1897. Prater was an active sportsman, his entry in ‘Who’s Who’ stating that his recreations included ‘rigorous sports’, which was reflected in his work, which included portrayals of football, rugby, cricket, American football and lacrosse.