Francis Sartorius

King Herod a famous Running Horse the property of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland but now of Sir John Moor Bar.t.

14 x 11 inches

A mint condition mezzotint portrait of the famous Racehorse, King Herod; almost certainly engraved by Richard Houston after the painting by Francis Sartorius and published by Robert Sayer in London in 1768.

King Herod (latterly known purely as Herod) was sired in 1758 and began racing at Newmarket aged 5. He went on to win races at Newmarket and Ascot but perhaps more significantly he became one of the three foundation stallions (along with Eclipse and Matchem) to sire the modern thoroughbred racehorse in England. His most prestigious foal was Florizel who went on to sire Diomed winner of the first Derby at Epsom in 1780 and a particularly important sire horse in America.

King Herod was originally bred by The Duke of Cumberland through Tartar (Sire) and Cypron (Dam) but was eventually sold to Sir John Moore once his racing days were over.

Francis Sartorius (1734-1804) was one of the many distinguished equestrian artists to come to prominence early in the reign of George III. Although this print is not attributed to any engraver it bears all the hallmarks of being done by Richard Houston with whom Sartorius collaborated greatly during this period.

£600