catalog text
ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES HANCOCK (BRITISH, 1802-1877)
Lottery, a Black Stallion in a Landscape
Oil on panel | Unsigned | reverse of panel branded BROWN HOLBORNE
Item # 107AGO29Q
A fine depiction of a black stallion racehorse standing in a landscape before an aged barn with a thatched roof, it is executed in oil on artist panel supplied by Thomas Brown (London, 1778-1840) at some point prior to the release of his leasehold at Holborn in 1840. The work is unsigned, but both the artist and the horse are attributed from the plaque on the front of the frame and an old typewritten note on the reverse. It was further attributed by Sotheby's when the work was sold in 1996 and 1999 and we agree with their attribution to Charles Hancock. Interestingly, the panel verso has a handwritten inscription "Lot 8 6/1/95", suggesting it was also at auction in an unrecorded sale. The note on the reverse reads:
"Black Horse Born 1820
by Tramp out of Mandane
Bred by Mr. Richard Watt of Bishop Burton, and was originally named Tinker. When young he took a fit and seizing his rider's leg, pulled him from the saddle and shook him. His owner at first tried to give him away, but eventually sold him to a Mr. Thomas Whittaker, of Dewthorpe Hall, Yorkshire. He first ran in the St. Leger of 1823, when he refused to start. He ran at four, five and six years of age, winning 12 races mainly at York and Doncaster. He won the Gold Cup at Doncaster, ridden by George Belson. He sired many winners, among them Chorister the St. Leger winner."
There is a translucent handling of the surface that is moving, a smooth and melding brushstroke that is almost reminiscent of watercolor; the heavy atmosphere of the scene is immediately striking with gray clouds moving in for an impending storm while only a hint of clear sky is visible in the upper left behind the trees. Wind from the looming storm is evident in the blowing mane of the stallion, this a proud and handsome animal with a striking form, his long shadows cast with technical excellence across the golden straw strewn throughout the foreground.
Provenance:
- Sotheby's Colonnade, 26 January 1996, Lot 83, achieved 2472 GBP [$ 3715 USD]
- Sotheby's London, 14 July 1999, Lot 66
- Yikes! Art Gallery, Bulter, Maryland
- Acquired from the above for a private collection, 15 March 2001 for $ 4,000
- Original gallery invoice and data sheets from Sotheby's sales included in sale packet
CHARLES HANCOCK (BRITISH, 1802-1877)
While little is known about Charles Hancock's early life, his first exhibitions give some insight into his development as an artist. First presenting at the Royal Academy in 1819 with a picture of "Mr. J. Hancock" while residing at 55, St. James St, he met success rather early on in his career. His next exhibition was the 1821 submission of "The Broken Teapot", at which time he was residing in Marlborough, in Wiltshire, but through the early 1830s he seems to have been transient with a variety of addresses given to subsequent submissions. Between the years of 1819 and 1847 Hancock exhibited no less than twenty-three works at the Royal Academy; it is noteworthy that none of these submissions included racehorses, a subject matter that drew the bulk of his focus. He was incredibly prolific, his exhibitions at the British Institution including at least fifty-five paintings while he showed no less than forty-seven paintings at Suffolk Street. Additionally, he exhibited at the New Water-Colour Society through 1868.
In 1825 Hancock began to turn his attention to sporting art, focusing very closely on equestrian portraits and during the years of 1835 through 1843 his focus seems to have been particularly on the race winners. Many of these portraits were so popular that they were engraved for broader distribution. His work was first discovered by New Sporting Magazine in 1833 and they would publish seventeen engravings of his work over subsequent years, naming him a "rising star" in 1835 as his reputation for painting the best racehorses began to solidify. He assisted in the illustration of The Sportsman's Annual in 1836, seven of his engravings were included in Sporting Review and five engravings were published in Sporting Magazine.
His active career as an artist stretched through 1847 and thereafter it appears he may have put the brush aside or at least to have worked in a less publicized manner through his death.
THOMAS BROWN OF HOLBORN (BRITISH, 1778-1840)
In 1805 or 1806 Thomas Brown (c.1778-1840) took on the business which had belonged to William Legg (qv) and, prior to him, James Poole (qv). He was described in 1807 as ‘Brown T., Colour and Primed Cloth Manufactory, 163, High Holborn, Successor to Mr Legg, late Poole’ (Post Office directory). Thomas Brown, sometimes known as Old Brown, died in 1840 and was buried at St George Bloomsbury on 7 October, with his age given as 62. He left a lengthy will, proved 24 October 1840, in which his business and stock-in-trade as artists’ colourman went to his eldest son, also Thomas Brown, known as Young Brown. The will makes it clear that he owned freehold property in Kentish Town and at Cowcross St. Young Brown was not living at 163 High Holborn, a leasehold property, in the 1841 or 1851 censuses. (Source: National Portrait Gallery, British artists' suppliers, 1650-1950)
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- Animal painters of England from the year 1650, Volume II, Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart., 1900, p. 1-14 [majority of source material for biography]
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. VI, Gründ, 2006, p. 1110
Measurements: 14 3/4" H x 19 1/2" W [panel]; 20 3/4" H x 25 5/8" W x 2" D [frame]
Condition Report:
Bright and clear surface, probably cleaned in the last twenty years. Under UV examination, two specks of inpaint to stallion's right shoulder, one in the fence beside his front knee, two specks in the field and two beneath his front right foot; some inpaint to the extreme edges of the painting where the frame rubs and in the upper left corner one speck touchup in the tree; faded beneath the current varnish layer is evidence of much older speck touchups to the clouds; frame with minor wear and losses to gilding, in overall good condition.