Feeding the Horse

Details

John Frederick Herring, Sen. (1795-1865)
Feeding the Horse
signed and dated 'J.F.Herring. Sen^r. 1846.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
56 x 44¼ in. (142.3 x 112.4 cm.)

Provenance

J. Mather.
Holbrook Gaskell (+); Christie's, London, 24 June 1909, lot 45 (320 guineas to Frank Gaskell).
By descent to
Mr and Mrs Ernest Gaskell; Sotheby's, London, 15 November 1989, lot 139 (sold £231,000).
with Richard Green, London, from whom purchased by the present owner in 1991.

Exhibited

Wolverhampton Municipal Art Gallery and Museum, Descriptive Catalogue of Paintings by Masters of The English School, 1927, no.45.
Wolverhampton Municipal Art Gallery, The Gaskell Collection of Paintings by Masters of English Landscape, 1951, no. 24.

Engraved

Thomas Lewis Atkinson, published by Henry Graves & Co., 13 April 1848.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Lot Essay

Feeding the Horse is one of Herring's most celebrated pictures. By the mid-1840s the artist was the well-established master of racehorse portraits, but was tiring of the repetitive subject matter. Inspired by the work of Sir Edwin Landseer and others, Herring sought to broaden his oeuvre. Thus this picture was painted at a critical moment which saw the artist apply all his skill to ensure this development was met with critical and commercial aclaim. The result was so successful, and the picture so popular, that the artist was to return to paint several versions of the composition through the 1850s. The quality of draughtsmanship and the exceptional detail in the present picture, however, mark it apart as being a masterpiece of 19th Century animal painting.

More from Sporting Art

View All