Provenance: Private collection, Missouri The common phrase “the thrill of the hunt” could be used to describe the work of Ogden Pleissner, but often an altered phrase, “the peace of the hunt,” could easily apply to his delicate watercolors. That is the case here as two men walk through thick vegetation at the edge of a clearing. Their prey could easily dart from the heavy foliage, which does produce some narrative tension, but the calming nature of the scene and the beauty of the land sets a softer tone. These classic sporting scenes, from one of the sporting masters, speak to the long history of sportsmen in America. Pleissner was born far from these scenes, in Brooklyn, New York. He developed a love for the “out-of-doors” after spending time at a boy’s camp in Dubois, Wyoming, where he developed a fascination for adventure in the wilds of nature. He studied at the Art Students League in New York, and not long after switched primarily to watercolor as his preferred medium. In 1932, at the age of 27, Pleissner became the youngest artist (at that time) whose works were in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After the outbreak of World War II, he painted pictures for the Air Force and Life magazine, and later depicted D-Day and other historical events from the war. Although he’s known as a sporting artist in North America, across the Atlantic Ocean he was known for his European landscapes. Today his works are in countless museums on both continents.