Arthur Louis Townshend (act. 1880-1912) Tristan (1878-1897), Racehorse Portrait in a Loosebox

Arthur Louis Townshend (act. 1880-1912) Tristan, Racehorse Portrait in a loosebox, signed lower left, titled and dated 1887 on label to verso, oil on canvas, 65 x 83 cm, frame 89 x 106 cm

Provenance: private Cheshire collection, old stencils and labels attached verso, handwritten note attached verso states the painting was sold at Christies 29th May '93 in the D. Cooper sale

Notes: Tristan (1878-1897) was a thoroughbred racehorse who had a famously unpredictable temperment, he ran 51 and won 27 during his career between1880-1884. He was bred by Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn, owned by C.J. Lefevre and trained by Tom Jennings at Newmarket. He was a flat racing horse who won at Epson, Royal Ascot, Hardwicke Stakes amongst numerous others, interestingly Tristan was also raced on the international circuit and achieved impressive wins at Grand Prix de Deauville. He was mostly ridden by jockey George Fordham. In 1884 Tristan was retired as a stud.