Fine Original 1830’s Signed Oil Painting Portrait of Derby Winner Racehorse

“Dangerous” Portrait of the 1833 Derby racehorse winner by John Frederick Herring Snr (1795-1865) British signed lower left, titled lower right oil painting on canvas: 10 x 14 inches framed condition: relined and in very good and presentable condition provenance: from a collection in England Dangerous (foaled 1830) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from June 1829 to July 1830 he ran six times and won three races, although two of his wins were walkovers. By far his most important win came on his first appearance as a three-year-old when he won the Derby in 1833 as a 30/1 outsider. Dangerous was retired to stud at the end of his three-year-old season and was shortly afterwards exported to France. Dangerous was a “rich chestnut” horse with a small white star standing 15.3 hands high, bred by his owner, Isaac Sadler (1784–1860), a livery stable owner who bred horses at Northleach in Gloucestershire. Sadler trained the colt himself at Stockbridge in Hampshire. He had previously trained his horses at Aldworth but relocated in 1832 to take advantage of the superior gallops at the Hampshire venue. Dangerous was sired by Tramp, who won several important races in 1813 and 1814 and went on to become a very successful stallion, siring important winners including St. Giles (Epsom Derby) and Barefoot (St Leger). Dangerous was one of several good foals produced by the mare Defiance, including Delight, Defence, Design and others, all beginning with the letter “D”. Dangerous was not mentioned among the Derby contenders in the early part of the year and his participation in the race was only announced a day or two before the event, making him very much a “dark horse”. At Epsom on 23 May, Dangerous was offered at odds of 25/1 and 30/1 for the Derby in a field of twenty-five runners, with Glaucus starting the 3/1 favourite. According to the Court Journal the crowds were the largest in memory, with hundreds of carriages, thousands of mounted spectators and an “innumerable phalanx” of pedestrians.The start of the race was delayed by “shameful confusion” as mounted officials struggled to clear the course of spectators and their carriages. Ridden by Jem Chapple, Dangerous was restrained at the back of the field in the early stages as Catalan, another of the outsiders set a very strong pace from Forester. Many of the runners were soon struggling, but Chapple was able to bring Dangerous through the field to join the leading group as the horses approached the turn into the straight. Two furlongs from the finish, Dangerous moved past Catalan closely followed by Connoisseur who was his only serious challenger. Dangerous appeared to be “full of running” and pulled ahead to win “with scarcely any trouble”, by a length from Connoisseur, with Revenge finishing strongly to take third. Apart from the first six horses, most of the other runners were either tailed-off or pulled-up before the finish. A correspondent for the Sportsman’s Cabinet took this as evidence that many of the jockeys had ridden with no intention of winning. The same writer, however, claimed that the race was run at a slow pace, whereas most other sources report that the opposite was true, with the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine describing the race as “the fastest Derby on record”. In addition to the prize money of £3,725, Sadler was reported to have won “a large sum in bets”. Later that season Dangerous claimed two more prizes without having to run in a competitive race. No other horses opposed him and he was allowed to walk over in a Sweepstakes at Stockbridge on 27 July and a similar race at Winchester. The colt had actually sustained an injury after the Derby and would have been unable to take part in a serious race, but his trainer managed to keep his condition secret, enabling to collect both races without being tested. His injury problems made it impossible to keep Dangerous in training and he was retired at the end of the season. John Frederick Herring, born in London in 1795, was the son of a London merchant of Dutch parentage, who had been born overseas in America. The first eighteen years of Herring’s life were spent in London, where his greatest interests were drawing and horses. In the year 1814, at the age of 18, he moved to Doncaster in the north of England, arriving in time to witness the Duke of Hamilton’s “William” win the St. Leger Stakes horserace. By 1815, Herring had married Ann Harris; his sons John Frederick Herring Jr., Charles Herring, and Benjamin Herring were all to become artists, while his two daughters, Ann and Emma, both married painters. When she was barely of age in 1845 Ann married Harrison Weir. In Doncaster, England, Herring was employed as a painter of inn signs and coach insignia on the sides of coaches, and his later contact with a firm owned by a Mr. Wood led to Herring’s subsequent employment as a night coach driver. Herring spent his spare time painting portraits of horses for inn parlors, and he became known as the “artist coachman” (at the time). Herring’s talent was recognized by wealthy customers, and he began painting hunters and racehorses for the gentry. In 1830, John Frederick Herring, Senior left Doncaster for Newmarket, England, where he spent three years before moving to London, England. During this time, Herring might have received tuition from Abraham Cooper. In London, Herring experienced financial difficulties and was given financial assistance by W. T. Copeland, who commissioned many paintings, including some designs used for the Copeland Spode bone china. In 1840-1841, Herring visited Paris, painting several pictures, on the invitation of the Duc d’Orleans (the Duke of Orleans), son of the French King Louis-Phillipe. In 1845, Herring was appointed Animal Painter to the Duchess of Kent, followed by a subsequent commission from the ruling Queen Victoria, who remained a patron for the rest of his life. A highly successful and prolific artist, Herring ranks along with Sir Edwin Landseer as one of the more eminent animal painters of mid-nineteenth (19th) century Europe. The paintings of Herring were very popular, and many were engraved, including his 33 winners of the St. Leger and his 21 winners of the Derby. Herring exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1818 to 1865, at the British Institution from 1830 to 1865, and at the Society of British Artists in 1836-1852, where Herring became Vice-President in 1842.