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Lot Essay
William Wilson on Go Easy, dated 1838, is a beautiful example of the artist's work from a period when he was patronised by many of the most prominent members of the aristocracy and some of the most famous personalities of the time, including the Duke of Rutland, the Earl of Lichfield, Count D'Orsay and Beau Brummel. It is likely to be the painting recorded in Ferneley's Account Books in 1837 as 'W.B. Wilson Esq., Dec.1837, Portrait of Himself and horse' for 21 Guineas. William Bowan Jordan Wilson (1808-1887) commissioned eight paintings from Ferneley between 1837 and 1839.
Born at Harrington, Northamptonshire to a wealthy family, and schooled at Harrow, William Wilson joined the regiment of the 3rd Dragoon Guards at seventeen. He retired from the army in 1831, having married Louisa le Hunte of County Wexford and Carmarthenshire, and inherited substantial estates including Knowle Hall in Solihull. He was a passionate sportsman, indulging in hunting as often as four times a week, and was clearly very proud of his horse, Go Easy, referring to him in a letter to friends as 'certainly the best horse I ever possessed, and one of the best in the Shires.'
By 1843 Wilson was appointed Master of the North Warwickshire Fox Hounds, and of the Atherstone pack in 1849. He observed in his memoirs (posthumously published in 1924 as Green Peas at Christmas) that 'If ever man appreciated the blessings of his own country and thoroughly enjoyed a country life in all its phases - I was that man'. However, by 1852, he found himself in considerable debt, and to avoid debtor's prison fled to America with a mistress, leaving his wife and five children behind. He returned to England in 1868, where he lived in much reduced circumstances until his death aged 79 in 1887.
The present picture appears to have remained within the family for some time after. A nephew, Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson, observed that 'The family pictures...were taken by my cousin William Le Hunte Wilson from his Father as a security for a small loan, and the pictures...remained in his possession till his death in Paris on April 14th 1892'. Sir Guy also ruefully observed of his uncle that he was 'very good-looking, most attractive in manner, extraordinarily plausible and insensately extravagant...with the result that he ruined himself...'
John Ferneley was born at Thrussington, Leicestershire, the son of a wheelwright. His abilities as an artist were first noticed by the Duke of Rutland, who saw some pictures he had painted on a cart his father was working on. It is likely that the Duke paid for Ferneley to become a pupil of Benjamin Marshall (1768-1834), one of the leading sporting artists of the time. Marshall also enrolled Ferneley at the Royal Academy Schools, and took particular interest in his pupil's talent. The young artist established himself at Melton Mowbray where he built a studio, and a house, Elgin Lodge, remaining there for the rest of his life. His superb equestrian portraits with their skilful modelling and subtle use of colour were particularly sought after.
We are grateful to Elaine Warner of The Knowle Society for her help in the cataloguing of this picture.
Born at Harrington, Northamptonshire to a wealthy family, and schooled at Harrow, William Wilson joined the regiment of the 3rd Dragoon Guards at seventeen. He retired from the army in 1831, having married Louisa le Hunte of County Wexford and Carmarthenshire, and inherited substantial estates including Knowle Hall in Solihull. He was a passionate sportsman, indulging in hunting as often as four times a week, and was clearly very proud of his horse, Go Easy, referring to him in a letter to friends as 'certainly the best horse I ever possessed, and one of the best in the Shires.'
By 1843 Wilson was appointed Master of the North Warwickshire Fox Hounds, and of the Atherstone pack in 1849. He observed in his memoirs (posthumously published in 1924 as Green Peas at Christmas) that 'If ever man appreciated the blessings of his own country and thoroughly enjoyed a country life in all its phases - I was that man'. However, by 1852, he found himself in considerable debt, and to avoid debtor's prison fled to America with a mistress, leaving his wife and five children behind. He returned to England in 1868, where he lived in much reduced circumstances until his death aged 79 in 1887.
The present picture appears to have remained within the family for some time after. A nephew, Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson, observed that 'The family pictures...were taken by my cousin William Le Hunte Wilson from his Father as a security for a small loan, and the pictures...remained in his possession till his death in Paris on April 14th 1892'. Sir Guy also ruefully observed of his uncle that he was 'very good-looking, most attractive in manner, extraordinarily plausible and insensately extravagant...with the result that he ruined himself...'
John Ferneley was born at Thrussington, Leicestershire, the son of a wheelwright. His abilities as an artist were first noticed by the Duke of Rutland, who saw some pictures he had painted on a cart his father was working on. It is likely that the Duke paid for Ferneley to become a pupil of Benjamin Marshall (1768-1834), one of the leading sporting artists of the time. Marshall also enrolled Ferneley at the Royal Academy Schools, and took particular interest in his pupil's talent. The young artist established himself at Melton Mowbray where he built a studio, and a house, Elgin Lodge, remaining there for the rest of his life. His superb equestrian portraits with their skilful modelling and subtle use of colour were particularly sought after.
We are grateful to Elaine Warner of The Knowle Society for her help in the cataloguing of this picture.