George continually strived to expand and perfect his skills, studying etching under the renowned architect, engraver and etcher, Sir Frank Short.

His talent blossomed under Short’s tuition and he started to gain further recognition for his work.

His large array of Working Horse watercolours and etchings are a principal part of The Soper Collection, which itself features the largest single set of George Soper’s work.  

Following his marriage to the beautiful Ada in 1897, their first daughter, Eva Lilian, was born in 1901, followed four years later by Eileen Alice.

By 1907, the couple had bought a plot of land in Hertfordshire and begun to build their family home. Featuring an enormous studio, the house would come to be known as ‘Wildings’, so named by the sisters. George would soon make it his principal duty to educate the young Eva and Eileen in his craft, enabling them to achieve their own continued success long after his death in 1942.

George’s talent lay in his ability to accurately translate every detail of his subject to paper. His gift to express movement through texture transports the observer to share in that very moment, frozen in time.

His artwork, displayed in The Soper Collection for all to enjoy and cherish, tells a story of a wild land and man’s struggles to tame and cultivate it. It tells of man’s love for, and partnership with, the working horse, a tradition long-forgotten but reinvigorated in this stunning collection.