TWO paintings of famous racehorses belonging to John Bowes, have been bought by the museum he co-founded at auction.
The miniature oil paintings make up a set of four Derby winners owned by John Bowes, one of the greatest racehorse owners of all time.
He used the proceeds of his winnings to help build up the world-renowned museum collection.
The two paintings bought at auction will sit with the other two paintings which are already held by and on display at The Bowes Museum.
Until recently art experts were unaware of the whereabouts of the missing pair.
The two paintings depicting Mundig, the 1835 Derby winner, and Cotherstone, who won the classic race in 1843, came up for auction at Yorkshire saleroom Elstob & Elstob’s pictures and sculpture sale last month and were sold for £1,800, beating their guide price of £1,000 – £1,500.
Dr Jane Whittaker, collections manager at The Bowes Museum, said:”We are delighted to have been able to secure the paintings.
“The two other miniatures have been part of our collection for about 34 years and it is wonderful to be able to complete the set.”
She added: “John Bowes had phenomenal success on the horse racing circuit and during his career he had four Derby winners.
“This is a feat matched by only five other breeders in the history of the race and only exceeded by the Aga Khan III with five. Even the late Queen never had a winning horse at the Epsom Derby, despite ten attempts.
“John Bowes earned a great fortune from his racing activities, which played a major part in funding the museum that was purpose-built to house the art collection belonging to him and his wife Josephine.
“It is very fitting that the paintings have finally come home and can take their place in telling the story of the museum and its illustrious founders.”
Measuring only 12.5cm x 13cm, the two paintings are set within horseshoe frames that would almost certainly have come from the horses themselves. They were sold together with a portrait of Issac Walker, who was head groomsman at the Streatlam Stud owned by John Bowes from 1833-1872. He took over this role from his father and between them they served in the position for more than 70 years. Issac died tragically from drowning.
Rohan McCulloch, picture and sculpture specialist at the Ripon-based auction house, added: “It is remarkable that these paintings have finally come to public attention after lying unnoticed for 180 years.
“They came from a client in Matlock, Derbyshire, who has had them in the family for as long as can be remembered.
“The family came originally from Weardale and the client remembers them hanging in his grandparents’ cottage in the village of Howden le Wear.
“His grandfather was friendly with Issac Walker’s family, which probably explains how the paintings came to be in their hands.”
Mundig was the first of Bowes’ hugely successful horses. He was foaled in 1832, the year that John Bowes turned 21 and indeed Mundig is German for mature or “of age” .
He was in the first batch of horses that Bowes sent to trainer John Scott known as “the wizard of the north” , who had the Whitewall training stables at Malton, near York. When Mundig won the 1835 Derby, he became the first northern-bred horse ever to do so, despite relatively long odds.
Cotherstone was another outstanding champion, again trained by John Scott and ridden by his brother William Scott to achieve victory in the 1843 Derby, winning by two lengths.
In that same year, he won the 2000 Guineas, and came second in the St Leger, earning John Bowes a total in excess of £12,000 in prize money (£1.2 million in today’s values), and securing his position as one of the most valuable horses in the country. Eventually, Cotherstone was sold for breeding purposes to Lord Spencer in 1844 for 3,000 guineas (£300,000 today).
The two other Derby winners that complete the set are West Australian, who became the first horse ever to win the Triple Crown (Guineas, Derby and St Leger); and Daniel O’Rourke, known as “the little horse” who was eventually sold to the Austrian Government for 800 guineas and shipped to Vienna.
All four paintings can now be seen on display in the Museum’s John and Josephine Bowes Story Gallery.
