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Pastimes

The Cock Fight, British

Artist unkown

About 1850

Oil on Canvas

76 x 88.5 cm

The vicious sport of cockfighting spread across Britain in the 17th century, but in 1835 was banned by the Cruelty to Animals Act (although it still remained legal in Scotland until 1895). Secret cockfights still continued, however. In this example, a policeman bursts through the door, truncheon in hand, to stop the illegal fight.

The painting suggests the universality of cock fighting, with different social classes represented by the onlookers.