***** This lot has been withdrawn from auction having been s...
***** This lot has been withdrawn from auction having been sold prior to auction JOHN FERNELEY (1782-1860)
John 'The Magnificent' Smith-Barry (1793-1837) of Fota, County Cork, out hunting
Oil on canvas, 85.7 x 105.4 cm Signed and dated lower right 'J.Ferneley/Melton Mowbray/1822'
Provenance: Commissioned by the sitter John Smith-Barry (1793-1837) July 1822 His eldest son James Hugh Smith-Barry (1816-1856) His eldest son Rt. Hon Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925), later 1st Baron Barrymore Then by descent until Christie's, Important British Art, 2 Jun 2002, lot 35 (where incorrectly identified as John's young brother James) (GB £69,310) Where purchased by Richard Green Fine Art Private Collection
Literature: Major Guy Paget, The Melton Mowbray of John Ferneley, Leicester, 1931, under 'The Account Books of John Ferneley', p. 131, no. 144 (i), 'Smith-Barry, Esq. July, 1822 Portrait of Himself on Horseback' (20 gns).
The absence of a native school of equestrian painting has long surprised art historians, especially given Ireland's close association with the turf. However, this lacuna is compensated for by the fact that one of the finest of all English sporting painters, John Ferneley, enjoyed close links with Ireland. This was noted by Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin: 'It should be remembered that the great English horse painter John Ferneley of Melton Mobray paid four visits to Ireland, the first in 1808 when he had introductions from the fifth Duke of Rutland, whose father had been Lord Lieutenant. Ferneley returned for long visits in 1810, 1811 and 1812'. Among Ferneley's most committed Irish customers were The Smith Barry family of Fota House, County Cork, with the commission of ten pictures being recorded in the artist's account books between 1822 and 1827, of which this is the earliest. It is likely that Ferneley had met the family during his sojourns in Ireland a few years earlier.
John Smith Barry (1793-1837) shown here was the eldest son of James Hugh Smith-Barry (1748-1801), 4th Earl of Barrymore. On the death of his father, the family estates in Ireland and also in England descended to him, but being illegitimate he could not succeed to the title. John known by the sobriquet 'The Magnificent' was responsible for remodelling Fota House to designs by Sir Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison, turning it from a hunting lodge to the great classical mansion that survives today in the care of the Irish Heritage Trust. John was a keen yachtsman and served as Vice Commodore and Vice Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club and in 1835 winning, with Columbine, the King's Cup at Cowes. In 2018, a portrait by an unknown hand was acquired jointly by the Irish Heritage Trust and the Yacht Club showing John in the uniform of the Royal Cork and with Columbine in the background. Fota's situation on an island in Cork harbour made daily sailing easy and John was also a keen horseman as shown here by Ferneley in this striking image showing him out hunting in an extensive landscape. The quality of the work is apparent in details such as the textured leather of his black riding boots, the sheen of the horse's flank – its anatomy perfectly captured – and the chromatic brilliance of his handsome red riding coat. In the distance on the left can be seen the Smith-Barry's English property Marbury Hall in Cheshire with horsemen and hounds assembling.
John Ferneley was born at Thrussington in Leicestershire, in the midst of the English 'Hunting Shires'. His precocity attracted the attention of the Duke of Rutland who persuaded his wheelwright father to apprentice him to the equestrian painter Ben Marshall. The latter became a life-long friend as well as teacher. Ferneley first arrived in Ireland in late 1808 and stayed about a year, returning to Thrussington in November 1809. He clearly found the country congenial and won significant commissions, painting for such distinguished patrons as the Lords Lismore and Rossmore and the Trenches and O'Callaghans. He contrived to earn and save £180, enough to pay for his marriage to Sally Kettle shortly after his return to England. They stayed in England only a few weeks, returning to Ireland in the spring of 1810, where they were received with generosity and affection by his clients of the previous year. In five months he amassed a small fortune of over £200.
Ferneley is without question the finest sporting artist to have worked in Ireland, and yet few indeed of his paintings for Irish clients survive, or at least can be identified today. There are still two such in the collection of the Earls of Belmore at Castle Coole, which show ponies ('Plenipo' and 'Buffer') while his portrayal of Hugh Dick's mare and pointer outside his home of Humewood, County Wicklow, was sold at Adam's on 19th October 2021 (€95,000 hammer).
On his return to England, Ferneley rapidly established a distinguished clientele, and he and John Herring were the sporting painters par excellence in the period 1810-1850. Ferneley was himself a keen sportsman, and he recounts his exploits in the field in his (eccentrically spelled) letters.
More Information
- In very good presentable condition.
- There is a small restoration to the skyline at 2 o'clock, measuring approximately 4 x 3cm
- Some infill to the craquelure and minor spots of overpainting to the head of the rider
- Some minor spots of strengthening to the horse and outline
- Old relining with an old storage label verso, a Christie's stencil mark and auction chalk marks for 12th of June '02.
- With an old label identifying the artist and date verso
The frame with some old chips on edges and losses to gilt
- With a title panel
- See images
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
***** This lot has been withdrawn from auction having been sold prior to auction JOHN FERNELEY (1782-1860)
John 'The Magnificent' Smith-Barry (1793-1837) of Fota, County Cork, out hunting
Oil on canvas, 85.7 x 105.4 cm Signed and dated lower right 'J.Ferneley/Melton Mowbray/1822'
Provenance: Commissioned by the sitter John Smith-Barry (1793-1837) July 1822 His eldest son James Hugh Smith-Barry (1816-1856) His eldest son Rt. Hon Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925), later 1st Baron Barrymore Then by descent until Christie's, Important British Art, 2 Jun 2002, lot 35 (where incorrectly identified as John's young brother James) (GB £69,310) Where purchased by Richard Green Fine Art Private Collection
Literature: Major Guy Paget, The Melton Mowbray of John Ferneley, Leicester, 1931, under 'The Account Books of John Ferneley', p. 131, no. 144 (i), 'Smith-Barry, Esq. July, 1822 Portrait of Himself on Horseback' (20 gns).
The absence of a native school of equestrian painting has long surprised art historians, especially given Ireland's close association with the turf. However, this lacuna is compensated for by the fact that one of the finest of all English sporting painters, John Ferneley, enjoyed close links with Ireland. This was noted by Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin: 'It should be remembered that the great English horse painter John Ferneley of Melton Mobray paid four visits to Ireland, the first in 1808 when he had introductions from the fifth Duke of Rutland, whose father had been Lord Lieutenant. Ferneley returned for long visits in 1810, 1811 and 1812'. Among Ferneley's most committed Irish customers were The Smith Barry family of Fota House, County Cork, with the commission of ten pictures being recorded in the artist's account books between 1822 and 1827, of which this is the earliest. It is likely that Ferneley had met the family during his sojourns in Ireland a few years earlier.
John Smith Barry (1793-1837) shown here was the eldest son of James Hugh Smith-Barry (1748-1801), 4th Earl of Barrymore. On the death of his father, the family estates in Ireland and also in England descended to him, but being illegitimate he could not succeed to the title. John known by the sobriquet 'The Magnificent' was responsible for remodelling Fota House to designs by Sir Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison, turning it from a hunting lodge to the great classical mansion that survives today in the care of the Irish Heritage Trust. John was a keen yachtsman and served as Vice Commodore and Vice Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club and in 1835 winning, with Columbine, the King's Cup at Cowes. In 2018, a portrait by an unknown hand was acquired jointly by the Irish Heritage Trust and the Yacht Club showing John in the uniform of the Royal Cork and with Columbine in the background. Fota's situation on an island in Cork harbour made daily sailing easy and John was also a keen horseman as shown here by Ferneley in this striking image showing him out hunting in an extensive landscape. The quality of the work is apparent in details such as the textured leather of his black riding boots, the sheen of the horse's flank – its anatomy perfectly captured – and the chromatic brilliance of his handsome red riding coat. In the distance on the left can be seen the Smith-Barry's English property Marbury Hall in Cheshire with horsemen and hounds assembling.
John Ferneley was born at Thrussington in Leicestershire, in the midst of the English 'Hunting Shires'. His precocity attracted the attention of the Duke of Rutland who persuaded his wheelwright father to apprentice him to the equestrian painter Ben Marshall. The latter became a life-long friend as well as teacher. Ferneley first arrived in Ireland in late 1808 and stayed about a year, returning to Thrussington in November 1809. He clearly found the country congenial and won significant commissions, painting for such distinguished patrons as the Lords Lismore and Rossmore and the Trenches and O'Callaghans. He contrived to earn and save £180, enough to pay for his marriage to Sally Kettle shortly after his return to England. They stayed in England only a few weeks, returning to Ireland in the spring of 1810, where they were received with generosity and affection by his clients of the previous year. In five months he amassed a small fortune of over £200.
Ferneley is without question the finest sporting artist to have worked in Ireland, and yet few indeed of his paintings for Irish clients survive, or at least can be identified today. There are still two such in the collection of the Earls of Belmore at Castle Coole, which show ponies ('Plenipo' and 'Buffer') while his portrayal of Hugh Dick's mare and pointer outside his home of Humewood, County Wicklow, was sold at Adam's on 19th October 2021 (€95,000 hammer).
On his return to England, Ferneley rapidly established a distinguished clientele, and he and John Herring were the sporting painters par excellence in the period 1810-1850. Ferneley was himself a keen sportsman, and he recounts his exploits in the field in his (eccentrically spelled) letters.
More Information
- In very good presentable condition.
- There is a small restoration to the skyline at 2 o'clock, measuring approximately 4 x 3cm
- Some infill to the craquelure and minor spots of overpainting to the head of the rider
- Some minor spots of strengthening to the horse and outline
- Old relining with an old storage label verso, a Christie's stencil mark and auction chalk marks for 12th of June '02.
- With an old label identifying the artist and date verso
The frame with some old chips on edges and losses to gilt
- With a title panel
- See images
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
