Oil on canvas, 22.2cm by 29.9cm. Signed l.r: J. Fred Herring/1836 and inscribed with the identity of the horse.
Lucetta, who was owned by Sir Mark Wood, won the Goodwood Stakes in 1822 and the Ascot Cup in 1830.
As a young man, the artist painted inn signs and coach insignia and also worked as a coach driver.
He painted portraits of horses in his spare time and eventually, as his talent was recognised, he began to receive commissions from members of the gentry.
He would come to be regarded as one of the finest equestrian and sporting artists of the 19th Century and one who enjoyed royal patronage.
In 1836 he amended his signature, with the addition of SR, to distinguish him from his eldest son of the same name.
