John Frederick Herring Sr.

Gardiner G. Howland, Esq., New York

S.S. Howland, New York

Acquired by The Jockey Club, New York

New York, Knoedler Art Galleries, Highlights of the turf : exhibition : paintings, bronzes, trophies, and books for the benefit of the New York Infirmary building fund, 20 April - 1 May 1948

This extraordinary early work belongs to an important series of racing pictures that John Frederick Herring Sr. carried out on the occasion of the 1828 St. Leger. Herring captures The Colonel's decisive victory ahead of Belinda, Velocipede, and Besy Bedlam, galloping into the scene at left, all of whom are identified by the inscription beneath the group. Half a century before Eadweard Muybridge's series of cabinet cards capturing a horse in motion, frame by frame, Herring's cinematic composition freezes the rush and excitement of racing horses flying through the air in physically impossible strides. 

Established in 1776, the St Leger is the oldest of the British Classics, the five Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. Run over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards, the St Leger is the longest of the five races and the last, held in September each year. The St Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, which begins with the 2000 Guineas and continues with the Derby.

The Colonel was a chestnut colt bred by Mr. Wyvill of Burton Constable, foaled in 1825 by Whisker out of an unnamed mare by Delphini, and was bought by the Hon. Edward Petre as a yearling. He was trained by John Scott (1797-1871), arguably the most successful trainer of classic winners, and ridden by his younger brother, William Scott (1797-1848). Two days after his win in the St Leger, The Colonel was allowed to walk over in a sweepstakes over the same course and distance. At the end of the 1828 season, The Colonel was bought by King George IV for 4,000 guineas, after having seen a painting by Herring, and won the Craven Stakes for him in 1830 and 1831, before being retired to stud at Hampton Court. He was moved when King William IV died in 1837, and was then sold to Germany. Repurchased in 1843, he died in 1847.

Although John Frederick Herring Sr. sketched animals since childhood, his artistic career began as a painter of signs and coaches. In his spare time he painted portraits of horses to decorate inn parlors, and his talent was eventually recognized by wealthy patrons who commissioned him to paint their hunters and racehorses. In 1815, he was commissioned by a Doncaster publisher to paint the winner of the St. Leger and continued to do so for the next 30 years. He went on to establish himself as one of England’s greatest Sporting artists, counting Queen Victoria and France’s Duc d’Orleans among his many patrons and painted over sixty winners of the most important races.