James Pollard (1792 - 1867) The Gold Cup at Doncaster (1839)...

Hammer

£20,000

James Pollard (1792 - 1867)
The Gold Cup at Doncaster (1839)
Oil on canvas

James Pollard exhibited his works at the Royal Academy between 1821 and 1839, and at the British Institution between 1824 and 1844. He was the son of the Newcastle-born engraver and print publisher Robert Pollard (1755/6-1839), a pupil of Richard Wilson. He was trained as a painter and engraver by his father and also received instruction from the wood engraver Thomas Bewick, his father’s friend, also a Newcastle man. Pollard grew up in Islington, London, working for the family firm as a draughtsman and engraver. Living on a main coaching route undoubtedly influenced his choice of coaching scenes as his primary subject matter; he was particularly valued for his historical accuracy in evoking the spirit of the coaching age.

In 1821, an event occurred that altered Pollard’s future. The King’s print seller Edward Orme commissioned Pollard to paint an inn signboard, showing a mail coach with horses and passengers. This signboard was first displayed in Orme’s Bond Street shop window, where it was seen by the Austrian Ambassador Prince Esterházy, who ordered a replica on canvas. Pollard was then promptly established as a painter of equestrian scenes in addition to coaches, and his rise to prominence began. 

Dimensions:
(Canvas) 24 in. (H) x 54.5 in. (W)
(Frame) 31 in. (H) x 61.5 in. (W)

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