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Lot 69: William Brocas RHA (c.1794-1868) COLONEL WESTENRA'S "FRENEY" WITH JOCKEY AND ATTENDANTS ON THE CURRAGH, CO. KILDARE and "ROLLER"(A P..

Est: €30,000 EUR - €40,000 EURSold:
Whyte'sBallsbridge, IrelandMay 27, 2013

Item Overview

Description

the first, signed and inscribed [W. Brocas pinx(t)], Dublin] lower left; with typed label on reverse detailing title; the second, with Cornelius Callaghan [Carver & Gilder, 24 Clare St., Dublin] label on reverse; with horse and hounds names also on reverse

Dimensions

h:28 w:36in.

Artist or Maker

Medium

oil on canvas; (2)

Exhibited

'An Exhibition of 18th - 21st Century Irish Paintings', Gorry Gallery, Dublin, 26 November to 6 December 2003, catalogue nos. 16 & 17

Provenance

Colonel Westenra's "Freney"...:
Frost & Reed, London;
Private collection, Los Angeles, California;
with the Gorry Gallery, Dublin;
Where purchased by the present owner

Provenance:
"Roller, A Bay Hunter...:
Commissioned by James Hans Hamilton (1810-1863) M.P. for County Dublin, who lived at Sheephill, Castleknock, Co. Dublin, later called Abbotstown;
with the Gorry Gallery, Dublin;
Where purchased by the present owner

Notes

We have here two of the finest examples of early 19th century Irish equestrian art to grace the auction rooms for a long time.

They are painted by William Brocas, a member of a distinguished family of 18th century Irish artists, famous for their portraits, landscapes and streetscapes, many of them popularised by engravings and illustrations in books and periodicals.

William was born around 1794-5. He practised in Dublin and exhibited at the Society of Artists from 1809, when only a teenager, and at the RHA from 1828 to 1863. He was elected an ARHA in 1854 and RHA in 1860. Among his most well known works are his depiction of the New Post Office (known to us today as the GPO) in 1818, which was engraved by J. Martyn, The Departure of Irish Emigrants which was purchased and by The Irish Art Union in 1842 and printed by them and a very fine View of Bray Head in the collection of the NGI.

In the first painting we see Colonel Westenra's racehorse, Freney, with jockey and attendants on The Curragh, County Kildare. Freney, was sired by Roller out of the mare Promise. At the time of this painting he was the property of Colonel Henry Westenra of Camla Vale, Co. Monaghan. Colonel Westenra had served in India with the 8th Royal Hussars, and was the brother of William Westenra who inherited the title of Lord Rossmore from his uncle, John Cunningham, a distinguished Anglo-Irish soldier, who died without issue. The Westenra family was originally from Holland, and settled in Ireland in the 17th century - interestingly before the arrival of William of Orange.

The setting of the picture is the Westenra family's Curragh stud, Brownstown, which along with the adjacent Lark Lodge Stud, then belonging to William Disney, made up, as it does to this day, the oldest continuously operating stud in Britain and Ireland.

The Curragh Camp can be seen to the left of the composition and across the flat Curragh Plain to the right is Brownstown House. The blankets that the young attendant is packing with a belt bear the Westenra initial clearly picked out in red.

Freney had originally been owned and trained by William Disney before they were sold to Colonel Westenra. This seems to have been a commonplace transaction between the two stud farms as the famous Birdcatcher or Irish Birdcatcher as he was commonly called was owned, trained and then sold by William Disney to Henry R. Westenra, 3rd Lord Rossmore.

Freney had a very successful racing career with numerous victories both in Ireland and England and listed below are his 11 recorded Irish wins between 1833-1837 taken from the racing calendar:

The Kings Plate of 100 guineas at the Curragh -April, May, June 1834, April, May, June 1835 and June 1836. The Sweepstakes of 200 sovereigns at the Curragh, September 1834.
His Excellency The Lord Lieutenant's Plate of 100 guineas at the Curragh, September 1834, 1835 and 1836.


The second picture in this lot was one of four portraits of horses commissioned by James Hans Hamilton and a receipt from 'Brocas' for £31-10-0 for painting three of these (including the present picture) in the then owner's family's possession was dated 1836.

Considering the depth of Irish involvement in horse breeding and training surprisingly few Irish horse painters and their works are extant. It is therefore of particular interest to exhibit two fine examples of this genre made all the more significant by the fact that Roller is the sire of Freney (no.17). It is an extraordinary incident of serendipity that a previous collector managed, after one hundred and fifty years, to put father and son together on the same wall!

We are grateful to the Gorry Gallery for their assistance in cataloguing these paintings.

Payment & Shipping

Payment

Accepted forms of payment: MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Other, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within fourteen days of the date of sale.

Auction Details

Important Irish Art

by
Whyte's
May 27, 2013, 06:00 PM GMT

Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Anglesea Road Entrance, Ballsbridge, Dublin, D04 HY94, IE

Terms

Buyer's Premium

18.0%

Bidding Increments

From:To:Increment:
€0€99€10
€100€699€20
€700€1,299€50
€1,300€2,999€100
€3,000€6,999€200
€7,000€12,999€500
€13,000€29,999€1,000
€30,000€109,999€2,000
€110,000€499,999€5,000
€500,000+€10,000

Terms and Conditions of Sale Notice

Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 set out below. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers. 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Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on (c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. 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(g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot. Clause 6 The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts. SPECIAL CONDITIONS (a) The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 25% (which includes VAT at the prevailing rate under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable (b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service. (c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions. WHYTE & SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2

Credit Cards, continued

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Condition

Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 in our full Terms & Conditions. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers.

Premium & Taxes

The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 18% (which excludes VAT at the prevailing rate under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable). Whytes will absorb the 3% fee charged by Artfact/Invaluable on Internet purchases.

Payment

Each lot shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his/her expense within fourteen days of the sale.

Shipping

The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within fourteen days of the date of sale.