Commencing at 11am. Viewing from preceding Sunday
The 22 lots of approximately 100 paintings will provide a wonderful opportunity for bidders to buy paintings of some of the most prominent racehorses, Derby and Grand National winners in racing history. To include Galileo, Sea the Stars, Papillon, Shirocco, Oath & Zarkava, among many others.
Michael Jeffery, 1941 – 2013, is considered one of the foremost of equestrian artists. A New Zealand-born artist, he dedicated his life to capturing the horse on canvas, and his work can be seen in many museums and collections.
Michael developed his own style, influenced by the great painters, Stubbs, Munnings and Ferneley. His family said, “J.M.W. Turner’s clouds, Edgar Degas’s dancers and J.S. Sargent’s use of light inspired my father. He would spend at least a week with each horse to get to know the animal. He’d take photos, do sketches, spend time with the jockeys and trainers. He would fill entire notebooks with sketches of the landscapes where the horses were, writing about the light and what colours he would use for the painting. He studied Rembrandt and the Old Masters for inspiration on how to create the light in the paintings. He would then often do the painting more than twice to get the final product.”
It was after his move to Melbourne,Australiai n 1972 that he began to make a name for himself. He was commissioned to paint the Victoria Racing Club’s Australian Racehorse of the Year over the following 14 years. His amazing attention to detail won him further commissions: from the late Robert Sangster; the Australian Jockey Club retained him to paint winners of the AJC Derby; the Sydney Turf Club employed him to paint winners of the Golden Slipper Stakes; West Australian Turf Club commissioned him to paint a retrospective series of 15 paintings of W.A. Derby winners. He also created large historic panels on the ceiling of the public stand at Melbourne’s Flemington Racehorse, home of the Melbourne Cup. In the late eighties he spent time in Chantilly,France, where he received commissions including the winners of the Prix du Jockey-Club and the Prix de Diane Hermes. From the Italian Jockey Club he was invited to paint winners of the Derby Italiano, and Societe Martell commissioned him to paint the winner of the Grand National in 1996.
He was much in demand by wealthy patrons, included European royalty, keen to have their horses captured for posterity. In later years he was the official artist for the Great Northern Steeples winners. Up until recently, when he had to put down his brushes for the last time, he was working on a large commission for the family of Sir Henry Cecil, the famous racehorse trainer. His work can be found in museums and private collections in the UK,France,Ireland,Belgium,Switzerland,Italy,Hong Kong,Japan,Australia,New Zealand,Saudi Arabia,Singapore and the USA. His profound understanding of oils and his ability to capture character and personality have ensured him a place in Art History.
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Press Contact: lisa.freeman-bassett@cheffins.co.uk
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