‘The Duchess’, Winner of the Great St. Leger at Doncaster, 1816

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

This aquatint print shows a winning horse and jockey of the Great St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster.

Army officer, MP for Grimsby (1768-74) and racing enthusiast Anthony St Leger (c.1731-1786) had his own racecourse at his Park Hill estate in Firbeck, South Yorkshire. In 1776, St Leger proposed a race with a 25 guinea sweepstake for three-year-old horses, run over 2 miles. The first race, held on Cantley Common outside Doncaster, was won by a horse owned by Charles Watson-Wentworth, second Marquess of Rockingham (Prime Minister in 1765-66 and 1782). When it was later suggested that the race should be named after him, Rockingham reportedly replied: ‘No, it was my friend St Leger who suggested the thing to me - name it after him’. The St Leger stakes is still run annually at Doncaster racecourse and is one of five British classic flat races.

Born in Surrey, John Frederick Herring senior was the son of an upholsterer and fringe-maker for coaches. He was initially employed as a coach painter, which led him to become a coach driver, but he also had a successful career painting St Leger and Derby horserace winners. In about 1830 he moved to London and, aged 38, received his first formal art training under Abraham Cooper. He later received several royal commissions, becoming Animal Painter to HRH the Duchess of Kent in 1846. Despite this, his move to London was not financially successful until he gained the patronage of William Taylor Copeland, head of the Spode Porcelain factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Herring produced several paintings for him, including designs for Spode china.
Thomas Sutherland was a prominent aquatint engraver who specialised in sporting, coaching, naval and military subjects, as well as topographical views. His engravings were generally made after the designs of contemporary artists. His best known works are some of the 105 illustrations to Rudolf Ackermann’s ‘The Microcosm of London’ (completed in three volumes in 1810). Sutherland also produced a series of prints based on the Peninsular Battles of 1808 to 1814. He lived and worked in London.

Places

England, Doncaster, Yorkshire

Subjects

horse-racing, jockey, topography, horse, fence

Materials & Techniques

aquatint, colour aquatint

Artist

John Frederick, Snr Herring (1795 - 1865)
Thomas Sutherland (1785 - 1838)

Title

‘The Duchess’, Winner of the Great St. Leger at Doncaster, 1816

Date

Medium

Colour aquatint

Acquisition

Purchased from Fores Ltd, September 1965

GAC number

7229