Brunk Auctions
Live Auction

Richmond, Virginia Premier Auction

Sat, Nov 9, 2019 09:00AM EST
Lot 150

Benjamin Marshall

Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$100 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$3,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
(British,˜1768-1835)Sir Charles Bunbury's Bay Filly with Jockey Up on Newmarket Heath, 1798, signed and dated lower right "B. Marshall pt.1798",˜˜oil on canvas, 27-1/2 x 36 in.; gilt wood frame, 33 x 41 in.Note: Benjamin Marshall began his artistic career as a portrait painter under the artist Lemuel Francis Abbott. He broadened his oeuvre to include animal subjects which gained royal and aristocratic patronage, placing him as one of the most desired sporting artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He influenced other great sporting artists such as John Ferneley (see lot 154) and Abraham Cooper.Sir Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet, (1740-1821) commissioned this painting with the jockey bearing his colors, pink and white. He was an affluent figure at Newmarket and bred important horses like˜Diomed, first winner of the Epsom Stakes (1790).˜Diomed's˜offspring would help establish American thoroughbred blood lines through an importer in Caroline County, Virginia named Colonel John Hoomes. Although this bay filly is not identified, she may also be the offspring of this enormously important sire.Provenance: Commissioned by Sir Charles Bunbury, 6th Bt., 1798; Victor MacCalmont, circa 1895; By descent until 1987;with Lane Fine Art, London; Private Collection sold with Christie's London: Wednesday, November 23, 2005, Lot 63 ; Private Florida Collection

Condition

lined, crackle; frame with wear