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Lot Essay
John Frederick Herring was the eldest of his father's three sons and was known to the family as 'Fred'. An artist of considerable talent, in style and subject matter he was strongly influenced by his father's work, seen particularly in his agricultural and farmyard scenes which were extremely popular.
His best works were probably his large-scale steeplechasing scenes, such as the present example, which show a particular originality and technical virtuosity. He himself claimed that to be a good painter of horses, one had to be 'brought up in the stable'. It has been suggested that Herring Senior and his son quarrelled over the similarity of their work, and that Herring Junior did not begin to exhibit his paintings at the Royal Academy until 1863, in order to avoid further conflict and competition with his father.
His best works were probably his large-scale steeplechasing scenes, such as the present example, which show a particular originality and technical virtuosity. He himself claimed that to be a good painter of horses, one had to be 'brought up in the stable'. It has been suggested that Herring Senior and his son quarrelled over the similarity of their work, and that Herring Junior did not begin to exhibit his paintings at the Royal Academy until 1863, in order to avoid further conflict and competition with his father.