1: ‘Sir Hercules’ and ‘Beeswing’

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection

    This aquatint print is one of a series of images, published under the title ‘The British Stud’. Plates one to six were advertised for sale in the ‘Guide to the Turf’ in 1846. The advertisement read:

    THE BRITISH STUD. A series of COLOURED ENGRAVINGS, price 1l. 1s. each, From pictures by Mr. HERRING, painted expressly for this work, Portraits of the most celebrated thorough-bred Stallions and Mares… Portraits of all the Winners of the Derby, Leger, and Oaks.’

  • About the artist
    Animal and military painter George Henry Laporte was born in London; the son of watercolourist John Peter Laporte (1761-1839). George studied under painter Henry Bernard Chalon. He lived with his father until around 1827, exhibiting at the Royal Academy and elsewhere from 1818. Laporte worked in both oil and watercolour. In 1834 he became a member of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours. Two years later he was made animal painter to the Duke of Cumberland. Laporte contributed a total of 43 plates to the ‘Sporting Magazine’. He died at 13 Norfolk Square, Paddington, aged about 78, leaving a daughter, Georgina (1852-1884). His wife, Eliza, predeceased him.
    John Harris III was an aquatint engraver of sporting and military subjects after works by contemporary artists. He was born in London and may have been the son of the watercolourist, illustrator and lithographer known as John Harris II. However, it has also been suggested that he was the son of a cabinet maker. Harris remained in London for the duration of his life and worked mainly for the publisher Ackermann and Fores.
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    Materials & Techniques
    aquatint, coloured aquatint
  • Details
    Title
    1: ‘Sir Hercules’ and ‘Beeswing’
    Series Title
    The British Stud
    Date
    published 1 March 1844
    Medium
    Coloured aquatint
    Acquisition
    Presented by Fores Ltd, March 1979
    GAC number
    14600