Valentine Maher at the Gallop

Details

JOHN FERNELEY SENIOR (THRUSSINGTON 1782-1860 MELTON MOWBRAY)
Valentine Maher at the Gallop
signed and dated 'J. Ferneley / 1845' (lower right)
oil on canvas
34 ½ x 46 in. (87.7 x 116.9 cm.)

Provenance

Commissioned from the artist in 1845 by W.S.L. Crawford, for £15.15.0.
with Arthur Ackermann & Son, London, 1961.

Literature

Major G. Paget, The Melton Mowbray of John Ferneley, Leicester, 1931, p.149, no. 554 in the artist's account book.
R. Fountain, John Ferneley (1782-1860): Catalogue of Paintings, published online, 2014, p. 72, no. H.45.554.002.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Lucy Speelman Junior Specialist, Head of Part II

lspeelman@christies.com +44 207 752 3074

Lot Essay

A renowned member of the Quorn Hunt, one of the country's oldest fox hunting packs, the figure of Valentine "Paddy" Maher loomed large in Melton Mowbray. Along with John Moore, James Maxse, and Sir James Musgrave, he was one of the 'Four Ms' of the Old Club in Melton for some 25 years, and was frequently depicted amongst the pack in Ferneley's familiar panoramas of hunts in full cry, one of the artist's specialties. Maher's name is a regular appearance in the artist's account book both as subject and patron, with thirteen paintings commissioned.

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