English Oil Painting of Horse and Groom Attributed to Ben Marshall

A stunning circa 1805 English equestrian oil on canvas painting firmly attributed to prominent late-Georgian period artist Benjamin Marshall portraying a dark bay thoroughbred horse with groom and calico cat outside architectural stable block presented in possibly the original moulded giltwood frame. Although unsigned, this work bears the hallmarks of Marshall's technique in the handling of paint, palette, figures, and composition as shown in other works signed by him. Works by Marshall are in the permanent collections of The Tate, The British Museum, The National Gallery of Art, The National Horseracing Museum, The Yale Center for British Art, and many others. Canvas measures 30.13" by 24.25". An extremely attractive and decorative work of great quality.

Biography:

Benjamin Marshall (8 November 1768 – 29 January 1835) was an English sporting and animal painter. He was a follower of George Stubbs and studied under Lemuel Francis Abbott. Born in Seagrave, Leicestershire, to Charles and Elizabeth Marshall, he initially focused on portrait painting and began concentrating on horses or 'sporting pictures' around the age of 26. He exhibited thirteen pictures, chiefly portraits of racehorses and their owners, at the Royal Academy from 1801–12 and 1818–19. Paintings by Marshall were much copied and engraved by leading engravers of the day and published regularly for framing and in sporting magazines. Marshall's exhibited and engraved works represent but a small proportion of the commissions which he carried out for patrons of the turf and masters of hounds throughout Great Britain. From 1800–10, Marshall was living at 23 Beaumont Street, Marylebone, London. In 1812 he relocated to Newmarket, staying until 1825, and was often described during this period as "Marshall of Newmarket". On his relocation from London to Newmarket he is alleged to have said "I have a good reason for going. I discover many a man who will pay me fifty guineas for painting his horse who thinks ten guineas too much to pay for painting his wife!" Marshall was seriously injured in a coach Crash in 1819 which prevented him from painting for a year, and left him with a permanent disability. He became a regular contributor of letters about horse racing in The Sporting Magazine from 1821 until 1833, writing under the pseudonym 'The Observator'. Marshall died on 29 January 1835 in London.