JOHN FREDERICK HERRING SNR
Surrey 1795 – 1865 Kent
Two horses in a stable
Oil on Canvas
13 ½ x 13 ½ ins. (34.3 x 34.3 cm.)
Signed & dated, lower centre: J.F. Herring. Sen. 1848
Held in its original gilded frame
Provenance
Private collection, USA
Two horses in stable is a beautiful example of John Frederick Herring’s equestrian art, and is a characteristically sensitive study, employing accurate draftsmanship, subtle modeling, and harmonious colouring and tone.
Herring frequently used a beautiful grey horse as his model - the Arab Imaum, which was originally sent to England as a present for Queen Victoria. Herring eventually acquired the Arab Imaum, and it is possibly the horse represented in the present painting.
A highly successful and prolific artist who ultimately attained the patronage of Queen Victoria, Herring ranks with Sir Edwin Landseer as one of the most eminent animal painters of the nineteenth century. His paintings were very popular and many were engraved, including his thirty-three winners of the St Leger and his twenty-one winners of the Derby.
BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN FREDERICK HERRING SNR
John Frederick Herring was the son of a London merchant of Dutch parentage, who had been born in America. The first eighteen years of his life were spent in London, where his greatest interests were drawing and horses. In 1814 Herring moved to Doncaster, arriving just in time to see the Duke of Hamilton's William win the St. Leger. By 1815 he had married Ann Harris; his sons John Frederick Herring Junior, Charles and Benjamin were all to become artists, while his daughters Ann and Emma both married painters.
In Doncaster, Herring earned his living as a painter of coach insignia and inn signs and his contact with a firm owned by a Mr Wood led to his subsequent employment as a night coach driver. Herring’s spare time was spent painting portraits of horses for inn parlours and he became known as the `artist coachman'. Herring's talent was quickly recognised and he soon found himself painting hunters and racehorses for the gentry.
In 1830, Herring left Doncaster for Newmarket, where he spent three years before moving to London. During this time, he may have received tuition from Abraham Cooper. In London, Herring got into financial difficulties and was rescued by W T Copeland, who commissioned many paintings including designs used for Copeland Spode bone china. In 1840-41, Herring visited Paris by invitation of the Duc d'Orléans, for whom he painted several pictures. In 1845, Herring was appointed Animal Painter to HRH the Duchess of Kent, followed by a commission from Queen Victoria, who was to remain a patron for the rest of his life.
Herring spent the last twelve years of his life at Meopham Park near Tonbridge, where he lived as a country squire. He now broadened his subject matter and painted agricultural scenes and narrative pictures, as well as his better known works of hunting, racing and shooting. Herring exhibited at the Royal Academy 1818-65, the British Institution 1830-65 and the Society of British Artists (whose Vice-President he became in 1842), 1836-52.
The work of John Frederick Herring is represented at the Tate Gallery, the Manchester City Art Gallery and the Royal Collection.