Mr John Bowes's 'Daniel O'Rourke' with Frank Butler up
Harry Hall, c. 1852

John Bowes founded the Bowes Museum in his ancestral home. John Bowes’s horse ‘Daniel O’Rourke’ (‘Irish Birdcatcher’ out of ‘Forget me not’) was under 15 hands high yet John Scott and his jockey, Frank Butler thought highly of ‘the little horse’ or ‘the pony’ as they often called him. ‘Daniel O’Rourke’ started the Derby at odds of 1 to 25, well down in the betting in the field of 27 runners. Daniel O’Rourke, who came with a rush a few strides from the chair won the 1852 Derby by half a length. Hall was the predominant racehorse portraitist of his time. The artist has taken great care in the depiction of the horse portraying in great detail in the markings and likeness. Together with the detailed landscape setting this is a particularly fine equestrian painting of one of John Bowes’s most important horses.
More information
Title of artwork, date
Mr John Bowes's 'Daniel O'Rourke' with Frank Butler up, c. 1852
Date supported
2011
Medium and material
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
51.5 x 65.5 cm
Grant
7920
Total cost
18000

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