The Earl of Coventry's Horse
Benjamin Marshall·1805
Historical Context
Benjamin Marshall's The Earl of Coventry's Horse from 1805 exemplifies the sporting art tradition that flourished in Georgian England, where horse portraiture rivaled human portraiture in prestige and price. Marshall was the leading sporting painter of the early 19th century, following in the tradition of George Stubbs. His horse portraits served the English aristocracy's passionate devotion to racing and breeding, documenting prized animals with both scientific accuracy and artistic flair.
Technical Analysis
Marshall's oil-on-canvas technique renders the horse with the anatomical precision and sensitivity to individual character that the sporting art tradition demanded. The warm landscape setting and the careful attention to the animal's conformation, coat, and bearing demonstrate his mastery of equine portraiture.
Provenance
Knoedler & Co., New York [based on type of label and numbering found on label on reverse of stretcher]. Possibly Elinor Patterson, née Medill (died 1933), Chicago; possibly by descent to her daughter, Eleanor Medill "Cissy" Patterson (died 1948), Chicago and Washington, D. C. [according to Alice Arlen who attested to Cissy Patterson’s ownership of the picture and suggested that she may have inherited it from her mother; electronic correspondence, February 3, 2004, in curatorial file]; by descent to her niece, Alicia Patterson (died 1963); by descent to her husband, Harry Guggenheim [according to Alice Arlen, see above]; given by him to his niece, Alice Albright Hoge (later Alice Arlen), 1963 [see above]; given to the Art Institute, 1970.
