Its prey locked into its sight and senses, its intent etched in its face for all to see, ears cocked and every muscle and sinew primed and waiting for that opportune moment, that fleeting window that signals the chase. As natural predators go, the fox is up there with some of the best in nature’s business, its observational powers second to none, its sense of purpose never wanting.

These underlying qualities and trademarks of the fox are caught with intricate illustrative nous by a celebrated contemporary artist who has a habit of capturing animals in their natural environs with a degree of pictorial panache and visual verve. ‘Reynard I’ is Gary Benfield’s latest painted reveal and seen here, which is lavished with a raft of golden browns and points of graphically revised details conveying layer and density to the overall piece, and set amid a swirling vortex of indescript colouration so that nothing detracts from the focus of our animal attentions.