Details
JOHN E. FERNELEY SENIOR (THRUSSINGTON 1782-1860 MELTON MOWBRAY)
A gentleman, traditionally identified as Robert Day of Belgrave Hall, Leicestershire, mounted on a bay hunter outside a stable with three dogs
signed and dated ' J. Ferneley. / Pinx.t. / 1807' (lower right, on the base of the arch)
oil on canvas
40 x 4758 in. (101.6 x 121 cm.)
Provenance
A. de Cassirers, London, from whom acquired for £280 on 25 October 1934 by,
with M. Knoedler & Co., New York, where acquired on 30 April 1935 for £460 by,
Geoffrey Akroyd, London.
with Newhouse Galleries, New York, September 1974.
Anonymous sale [Property of a New York Private Collector]; Sotheby's, New York, 10 June 1988, lot 74, where acquired by the following,
Don F. Gaston (1934-2021) and Paula Gaston, née Boynton (1934-2021); (†), Sotheby's, New York, 25 October 2022, lot 409.
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Lot Essay

There are no references to Robert Day in Ferneley's account books, and the painting does not appear to match any of the entries from 1807. In that year Belgrave Hall was owned by the Vann family and the connection between Robert Day and the house is unclear, but the identification of the sitter has remained since the picture was sold in 1934.

John Ferneley had a long and prolific career and enjoyed success as one of the most accomplished sporting artists of his day. Although first apprenticed to his father’s trade as a wheelwright, Ferneley was later sent to London to study with renowned sporting painter Benjamin Marshall, whose influence is clear on Ferneley’s early work, including this picture.

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