Heaton Park Races, 1829

Not on View

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 92 x 152.6 cm (36 1/4 x 60 1/16 in.)

framed: 110.5 x 170.8 x 8.2 cm (43 1/2 x 67 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

Accession Number

1970.17.110

Artists / Makers

John Ferneley (artist) British, 1782 - 1860

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Provenance

Painted for Thomas Grosvenor (assumed surname Egerton in 1821), 2nd earl of Wilton [1799-1882], Heaton Hall, Lancashire; by inheritance to his son, Arthur Edward Holland Grey Egerton, 3rd earl of Wilton [1833-1885], Heaton Hall; by inheritance to his wife, Elizabeth, countess of Wilton [d. 1919]; her estate; (sale, Sotheby & Co., London, 16 May 1928, no. 155, as A Country Race Meeting);[1] (M. Knoedler & Co., New York and London); purchased July 1928 by Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York;[2] bequest 1970 to NGA.

[1] The catalogue for the Sotheby's sale listed the painting as "The Property of the late Elizabeth Countess of Wilton, Sold by Order of the Dowager, Viscountess Deerhurst."

[2] Guy Paget, in "Ben Marshall and John Ferneley," Apollo 40 (August 1944): 36, fig. XVI, credits the reproduction of the painting to Hamilton Bruce of Baltimore. Bruce has not yet been further identified, but he was possibly a relation of Mrs. Bruce's husband, David K.E. Bruce, whose family lived in Baltimore.

Associated Names

Bruce, Ailsa Mellon, Mrs.
Bruce, Hamilton
Egerton, 3rd Earl of Wilton, Arthur Edward Holland Grey
Grosvenor, 2nd Earl of Wilton, Thomas
Knoedler & Company, M.
Sotheby's
Wilton, Elizabeth Charlotte Louisa, Countess of

Exhibition History

1989: Extended loan for use by The Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1989-1994.

2009: Extended loan for use by Vice President and Mrs. Joseph Biden, Vice President's House, Washington, D.C., 2009-2015.

Technical Summary

The medium-fine canvas is plain woven; it has been lined. The smoothly applied white ground masks the weave of the canvas. The painting is executed in thin, smooth, opaque layers, with low impasto in the highlights. The broad traction crackle in many of the brown pigmented layers suggests the presence of bitumen. The impasto has been slightly flattened during lining, but otherwise the painting is in excellent condition; paint loss or damage is minimal. The moderately thick pigmented natural resin varnish has discolored yellow to a significant degree.

Bibliography

1931: Paget, Major Guy. The Melton Mowbray of John Ferneley (1782-1860). Leicester and New York, 1931: 71, 72, 138, repro. opp. 70.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 126, repro., as In the Paddock.

1975: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: no. 597, color repro.

1978: Egerton, Judy. British Sporting and Animal Paintings 1655-1867: the Paul Melllon Collection. London, 1978: 243.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 408, no. 582, color repro., as In the Paddock.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 152, repro., as In the Paddock

1992: Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 72-73, repro. 73.