Conformation and the Parade Ring · The Conformation
'Pyrrhus the First'
John Frederick Herring Sr., oil on canvas, c.1846 · oil on canvas
What it is
Pyrrhus the First stands in profile, groomed to a shine, painted at the moment his name was worth painting.
Why it matters
Herring's business was catching a season's champion at the top of his value; a horse whose fame rode on one great result still needed the record kept properly.
What to notice
the single white sock, the one mark Herring lets the eye rest on before it moves to the whole animal.
One good year was enough to earn a wall.
Provenance
- Maker
- John Frederick Herring Sr., oil on canvas, c.1846
- Era
- The Victorian Turf (1837–1901)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Made
- 1846
- Horse
- Pyrrhus the First
- Source
- Private collection
Print master
The largest formats are printed from a master enlarged 3× from the surviving 1000×777 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 11x17" 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.