George Harrington

'London to Brighton Coach', Massachusetts, National Academy of Design, Horses

Circa 1900

Signed lower left, 'George H Harrington' (American, 1833-1911) and painted circa 1900. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, George Harrington is recognized for his turn-of-the-century works reflecting American life before the industrial age, particularly for equestrian scenes that include polo matches, carriage rides, and horses in pastoral landscapes. After a successful career in business, Harrington studied art and became a successful landscape painter. He exhibited widely including at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Boston Athenaeum and at the Boston Art Club, of which he was a member. Reference: Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, page 1465; A Biographical Index of American Artists, Ralph Clifton Smith...

Signed lower right, 'H. Hammond' for Horace Murray Hammond (British, circa 1879-1966) and dated 1921. A luminously painted, bucolic view of harvest time in England with the lilac of the evening casting a soft light over the contented horses and loaded hay-cart, as the harvesters come to the end of their day's labors. Son of the noted landscape painter, Robert John Hammond, Horace Hammond was born and raised in Warwickshire. In 1927, he moved, first to Worcestershire and then to London. Over the course of a long and successful career, Hammond exhibited widely, including at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and at London's Royal Academy, among numerous other locations. A well-listed painter...

Signed with initials in carriage: CHC

When Johnny left school, there were many interests which ran alongside his career at the time in the City of London as an Aviation Insurance Broker at Lloyds – writing music, playing with a band, tinkering with Vintage cars, marketing various inventions and making painting trips when possible – it wasn’t long before the Arts beckoned and at twenty six he won a place at the Fine Arts Academy in Florence where he moved in 1972. A year later, moving near Lake Trasimeno, he continued his studies at the Fine Arts Academy in Perugia. Again on the move, he travelled to Pietrasanta near Carrara with some sculptors and stayed on this coast for nearly a year before moving eventually to Grimaldi, just inside Italy – a small medieval village about three hundred yards from the Italian /French frontier close to Monte Carlo. Here he began a series of backstage paintings – at the Opera and Orchestra rehearsals, fashion shows, at the Circus, Jazz and Cabaret – exhibiting regularly along the coast in Monaco, Nice, Cannes and Antibes. In 1984, circumstances changed and it was necessary to return to England – where a chance invitation to the races triggered a whole new series ‘At the Races’ which in time produced a wider series entitled ‘The British Sporting Year’ of Polo, The Henley Regatta, Derby Day, Wimbledon, Bowls, Cricket, Golf – even Jousting at Hever Castle...