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"Like a dog he hunts in visions/ then a hand shall pass before thee."

Artist: Ebsworth, Joseph Woodfall · 1824-1908

"Like a dog he hunts in visions/ then a hand shall pass before thee."

The work was accessioned as by artist unknown and its true identity was discovered by RSA Documentation Officer in 2018 when he established that the…

The work was accessioned as by artist unknown and its true identity was discovered by RSA Documentation Officer in 2018 when he established that the picture must have entered the collections post the publication in 1883 of the Art Property in the Possession of the Royal Scottish Academy catalogue, and by c.1910-11 when the black and white photograph showing the interior of the RSA Council Room in the shared RSA-NGS building was taken.

He then discovered that a J Collins Francis offered an oil painting by the late Joseph Ebsworth "Like a dog he hunts in visions - Then a hand shall pass before thee." which was referenced at RSA Council Minutes 1910-11-04 and accepted 1910-11-24. That work could not otherwise be identified amongst the Academy's collections.

On checking the source of the text quoted in the Minute, he further established that the line comes from a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson titled "Locksley Hall," which was first published in 1842. Many of the images in the painting find parallels in the text of the poem which talks of unrequited love.

On the basis of the foregoing the authorship of the work was amended from Unknown to Joseph Woodfall Ebsworth (1824-1908) and the title amended from 'Ana'tkh' to the extract from the poem.