Oil on canvas
England, circa 1850
John Frederick Herring I (1795-1865) - English animal painter
Signed ‘J H Herring’ lower right
Overall dimensions, framed: 52.5 x 85 cm
Provenance: Swiss private collection
John Frederick Herring I is considered to be one of the most significant animal painters of the 19th Century. Similar paintings fetch up more than 200,000 euros on the international market

The present painting is the work of John Frederick Herring I (1795-1865) and dates around 1850. The painting depicts a horse mill on a farm, and the running horses are the center of the composition. Horses were one of the favorite subjects of the painter. The detailed rendering of the fine fur and the movements of the horses testify to Herring’s great artistic skill.



The painting is signed lower right, ‘JH Herring‘. The paint surface shows some craquelure, light framing marks, and a few areas of paint losses. There are some small areas of retouching to the upper part of the image. The gilded wood frame shows several losses of paint. The overall dimensions, including the frame, are 52.5 x 85 cm. The stretcher frame measures 40.5 x 71 cm.



John Frederick Herring Sr. (1795-1865)

Born in London, John Frederick Herring (1795-1865) was a famous painter in Victorian England. From 1836, he used the supplement ‘senior’ in his name, after his son John Frederick Herring Jr. had also become known as a painter.

John Frederick Herring Sr. is regarded as one of the foremost animal painters in the mid-19th century. He began his career with the painting of carriages and horse depictions for public houses. At that time, he was known as the ‘artist coachman‘. He was soon hired by the British upper class as a painter of racehorses. Due to his acquaintance with the successful painter Abraham Cooper, he was able to increase his visibility. He made paintings for great historical figures, such as the Duc d'Orleans, the Duchess of Kent and Queen Victoria. Around 1850, Herring moved to rural Kent in southeast England, living in Meopham Park near Tonbridge. There, he focused on rural scenes and hunting depictions. Herring’s paintings were very popular and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Institution, and the Society of British Artists. Today, his works are displayed in many important collections, for example at the Tate Gallery, the Royal Collection, and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

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