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拍品專文
Bred by Sir John Shelley, Priam was by the 1823 Derby winner Emilius out of Cressida by Whiskey. Purchased as a yearling for a record 1,000 guineas by William Chifney (see lot 32), Priam won the Derby at Epsom in 1830 at odds of four to one by a comfortable two lengths and was second in the St. Leger at Doncaster won by Birmingham (see lot 28) in very heavy going. Two days after this loss, he came back to win a match race of 500 gns. against Retriever. In 1831, Priam won the Craven Stakes and was purchased by Lord Chesterfield for 3,000 guineas and continued to win a number of races for his new owner. This painting depicts the only three starters (out of sixteen entries) for the 1831 Goodwood Gold Cup circling before the start of the race, run on Thursday, August 18th. Going off at odds of 6 to 5, Priam ridden by Patrick Conolly won by over a length with Fleur de Lis ridden by George Nelson, second and Variation ridden by James Robinson, third. After winning the Goodwood Gold Cup again in 1832 against Lord Exeter's Beiram and Mr. Ridsdale's St. Giles (see lot 31), Priam was retired to stud at Lord Chesterfield's Bretby Park where he became an important sire, particularly of fillies like Miss Letty, Industry, and the undefeated Crucifix (see lot 42) all winners of the Oaks. In 1835, Priam was sold for a record 3,500 guineas and exported to Virginia by Merritt and Company. He led the American sire list from 1842-1846 making Priam one of the most important stallions on both sides of the Atlantic during the middle of the 19th century.
The paintings of John Frederick Herring, Sr. represent the most important and accurate depictions of the history of the turf in the first half of the 19th century. He painted most of the Derby, Oaks, and St. Leger winners and prints of his paintings were widely distributed. In our painting, one can clearly see the artist's early development of depicting important racehorses in naturalistic scenes. The poses of these horses are repeated in his later large paintings the Start of the Derby, 1834 won by Plenipotentiary and the Start of the Derby, 1835 won by Mundig. Herring often repeated paintings in exact detail, only changing the colors of the silks and horses.
An important patron of the turf and legendary sportsman, the 6th Earl of Chesterfield (1805-1866), was well known for his extravagance, high-living and flamboyant lifestyle which earned him the nickname of "The Magnificent." Our painting was one of a number of racing pictures by Herring including Priam beating Lord Exeter's Augustus at Newmarket (sold, Sotheby's New York, June 9, 1989, lot 75) and Industry and Caroline Elvina (sold, Christie's London, April 24, 1987, lot 24) depicting Lord Chesterfield's horses which were sold by his grandson the 5th Earl of Carnarvon at Christie's in 1918, possibly to fund his excavations in Egypt of the tomb of King Tutenkhamen.
A later version of this painting dated 1833 was in the collection of the Marchioness of Graham, who inherited the painting from her father the 12th Duke of Hamilton (sold, Christie's London, May 23, 1919, lot 273). When this later version, now in a private collection, reappeared at auction from the collection of Mrs. Miriam Leader (sold, Sotheby's London, March 18, 1970, lot 80 for 24,500/$58,800), Mr. Evans was the underbidder. Being unsuccessful, he, with the assistance of E. J. Rousuck of Wildenstein, purchased this primary version on the same day.
The paintings of John Frederick Herring, Sr. represent the most important and accurate depictions of the history of the turf in the first half of the 19th century. He painted most of the Derby, Oaks, and St. Leger winners and prints of his paintings were widely distributed. In our painting, one can clearly see the artist's early development of depicting important racehorses in naturalistic scenes. The poses of these horses are repeated in his later large paintings the Start of the Derby, 1834 won by Plenipotentiary and the Start of the Derby, 1835 won by Mundig. Herring often repeated paintings in exact detail, only changing the colors of the silks and horses.
An important patron of the turf and legendary sportsman, the 6th Earl of Chesterfield (1805-1866), was well known for his extravagance, high-living and flamboyant lifestyle which earned him the nickname of "The Magnificent." Our painting was one of a number of racing pictures by Herring including Priam beating Lord Exeter's Augustus at Newmarket (sold, Sotheby's New York, June 9, 1989, lot 75) and Industry and Caroline Elvina (sold, Christie's London, April 24, 1987, lot 24) depicting Lord Chesterfield's horses which were sold by his grandson the 5th Earl of Carnarvon at Christie's in 1918, possibly to fund his excavations in Egypt of the tomb of King Tutenkhamen.
A later version of this painting dated 1833 was in the collection of the Marchioness of Graham, who inherited the painting from her father the 12th Duke of Hamilton (sold, Christie's London, May 23, 1919, lot 273). When this later version, now in a private collection, reappeared at auction from the collection of Mrs. Miriam Leader (sold, Sotheby's London, March 18, 1970, lot 80 for 24,500/$58,800), Mr. Evans was the underbidder. Being unsuccessful, he, with the assistance of E. J. Rousuck of Wildenstein, purchased this primary version on the same day.