POLLARD, James (1792-1867)

Moses Bred by His Royal Highness the Duke of York in 1819, got by Whalebone, his dam by Gohanna... In 1822 he won.. the Derby Stakes at Epsom beating Figaro, Hamden, Stamford, Marcellus, Mystic Wanton & five others... In 1823 at the Newmarket Craven Meeting won the Claret Stakes of 200Gs. each

London: R. Pollard & Sons, 22 June 1822 [but 1823]. Aquatint, printed in colours and finished by hand, by James Pollard. Expertly restored, re-backed. Image size (including text): 12 1/8 x 17 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 15 3/8 x 19 3/16 inches.

A fine portrait of the winner of the 1822 Epsom Derby, engraved by James Pollard from his own original drawing.

Moses is shown as preparations for the race get under way: the jockey (T. Goodisson) brings over the saddle to the bare-backed horse who is held by his groom. Moses' blankets have just been removed and a stable lad folds them neatly. James Pollard was the youngest son of the London engraver and print-seller Robert Pollard. He began work at the age of fifteen as a painter but quickly turned to engraving as well. In the 1820s his coaching scenes became both fashionable and lucrative. "A stream of coaching paintings followed, many of which he engraved himself. From 1821 he exhibited a small number of pictures at the Royal Academy and the British Institution which brought him more patrons. Between 1830 and 1840, Pollard also painted a number of racing pictures and some of the earliest scenes of steeplechasing on purpose-made courses, many recording the prowess of the few professional and more amateur riders of the day... [In all his work Pollard took great pains over accuracy, this is particularly true of his large scale works and] it is Pollard's large racing scenes which really take off and into which one can gaze and discover a microcosm of the turf" (Charles Lane British Racing Prints p.146)

Lane British Racing Prints p.146; Selway James Pollard 1792-1867 p.48; Siltzer p.214.

Item #5207

Price: $2,250.00