John Ferneley, Snr. 1782-1860

Acquired by Mr C. Townsend for £10-10-0;
Acquired from the above by Sir Daniel Cooper, 2nd Bt. (1848-1909) of Woolahra, Australia;
Thence by descent to the present owner 

Major Guy Paget, The Melton Mowbray of John Ferneley, 1931, no.597 in the account books

The canvas is lined and would appear to be in generally good condition. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals some retouching to the left hand edge and in the sky. There is a small passage of retouching in the lower right hand corner as well as evidence of some older retouching along the lower edge. Held in a gilt wood frame.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This atmospheric painting depicts the early morning exercise of the horses at Newmarket, and is an impressive example of Ferneley's ability to paint racing scenes as much as hunting compositions.

Ferneley first went to Newmarket about 1830.  In addition to the present painting Ferneley painted some highly accomplished racing scenes, including The Start and The Finish at the Liverpool Races in 1839 (Paget, op.cit, account books no.395).  Ferneley also published sixteen acquatints of race horses, mostly Derby and St Leger winners. 

The painting was owned by Mr Townsend who commissioned a number of paintings from Ferneley, including a portrait of Veloseped [sic], and a portrait of Rowton, two of the most successful racehorses of the day.  The paintings were subsequently owned by Sir Daniel Cooper, 2nd Bt., who obtained a substantial art collection from Mr Townsend.  Sir Daniel's love of racing led him to move to Warren Place, Newmarket, where he installed a water trough in the High Street for the horses.  

By tradition the painting shows Lord George Bentinck to the right of the composition.  Lord George Bentinck was M.P. for King's Lynn, but his interest in politics always came second to his passion for the Turf.  He left a permanent legacy at Goodwood where he built enclosures to improve the viewing conditions, and created the Halnaker Park gallop.  His most successful racing season was in 1845, shortly before the present work was painted, when thirty-six horses won fifty-eight of the 195 races in which they started.  Bentinck was also a great reformer of the administration of horse racing, and he devised a code of racing rules advocating the expulsion of defaulters from courses, flag starts, punctual times for races, and the numbering of horses.