BIOGRAPHY - John F. Herring, Jr. (Circa 1820 - 1907)
John F. Herring, Jr. was born in Doncaster around 1820 to the well-known nineteenth-century artist John F. Herring, Sr. At that time, his father was considered one of England’s greatest sporting and equestrian artists patronized by the English aristocracy. His mastery of the brush and popularity among the nobility served his son well. Early on, Herring, Jr. was exposed to fine painting and wealthy patrons. It has been stated in several recent reference books that Herring, Sr.’s first child was named John Frederick Herring, Jr. and was born on June 21, 1815, and baptized on October 22, 1815. However, another child was born in 1820, also named John Frederick Herring, Jr. (baptized in 1821). The assumption is that the first Herring child died, and the second, born around 1820, is the artist we know today.
The Watering Hole
It is no surprise that Herring, Jr. developed a love for painting, a passion also shared by his brothers Charles and Benjamin. Three of Herring, Sr.’s four sons became artists and painted in the same style as their father, often collaborating on a single painting.
From his choice of subject matter and the style in which he painted, it is obvious that he received much of his training from his father. In the years after 1836, Herring, Sr., feeling threatened by his son’s abilities and growing popularity, began incorporating the ‘SR’ at the end of his signature. Herring, Jr. continued to paint sporting and animal pictures in the tradition of his father. But as his artistic prowess developed, his style changed, loosening his brushwork and widening his views. He began to place farm animals on the banks of streams or in farmyards.
Herring, Jr. married Kate Rolfe, the daughter of the English angling and sporting artist Alexander Rolfe. Herring, Jr. would sometimes collaborate with his father-in-law and other artists, painting animals in their works. During his lifetime, Herring exhibited at all the major exhibition halls, including the Royal Academy. There, he exhibited The Farm – Autumn (1863), Farm-yard (1864), The Old Lodge (1865), Watering the Team (1866), The Homestead (1871), and A Farm yard (1873), among others.
