Conformation and the Parade Ring · The Conformation
The Racehorse 'Actaeon'
John Frederick Herring Sr., oil on canvas, c.1826 · oil on canvas
What it is
In strict profile, Actaeon offers every line of his body to be read against a plain ground.
Why it matters
Herring's profile studies were made to be read like a specification — buyers and breeders wanted the shape of a horse recorded as plainly as its pedigree, and this is that record in paint.
What to notice
One unbroken line runs poll to tail — profile format leaves nowhere for a fault to hide.
A silhouette can be a signature.
Provenance
- Maker
- John Frederick Herring Sr., oil on canvas, c.1826
- Era
- The Georgian Turf (1750–1837)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Made
- 1826
- Horse
- Actaeon
- Source
- Brighton Museum & Art Gallery (FA000103)
Print master
The largest formats are printed from a master enlarged 3× from the surviving 1200×1003 scan by AI enhancement (Claid smart-enhance), prepared for the considered detail of a print viewed at distance. The source record above is unchanged — the enhancement serves the wall, not the archive.
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the work’s own year of publication. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-20.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 18x24" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
More from the Stable Wall
Elsewhere in the family
- The Links — the other morning religion.
- Painted Lineage — the bloodline, beside the family line.
- Painted Earth — home ground as a period map.