JOHN FERNELEY (Thrussington, Leicestershire, 1782... Lot 30

JOHN FERNELEY (Thrussington, Leicestershire, 1782 - Melton Mowbray, 1860). "Favourite Hunter of Count Batthyani. 1835. Oil on panel. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. It has an old registration label on the back. Measurements: 22 x 34 cm; 26 x 39 cm (frame). John E. Ferneley was an English painter who specialised in portraying sporting horses and hunting scenes. Although his interpretation of horses was stylised, he is considered one of the great British equine artists. In London he studied with the sporting artist Benjamin Marshall. While training with Marshall, he entered the Royal Academy School and his paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1806 and 1853. His equine genre work became highly sought after, and his patrons included many royalty and personalities such as Beau Brummel and the Count d'Orsay. Ferneley was routinely commissioned to paint the famous hunts of Quorn, Belvoir and Cottesmore. He also painted "scurries", panoramic pictures showing a sequence of events. Between 1810 and 1812 he visited Ireland on several occasions, producing a large number of commissioned paintings for wealthy Irish patrons. Ferneley kept a series of account books dating from 1807 to 1860, the detailed annotations of which have been of great use to later historians. John Ferneley College in Melton Mowbray is named after him.