Conformation and the Parade Ring · The First Stables
Lamprey, with His Owner Sir William Morgan, at Newmarket
John Wootton, 1723 · oil on canvas
What it is
The dappled grey Lamprey, saddled in red, is held by a groom outside a Newmarket stable while Sir William Morgan of Tredegar stands with his companions; John Wootton signed it in 1723.
Why it matters
Morgan, a Whig member for Monmouthshire, died in 1731 aged 31, eight years after Wootton painted his horse.
What to notice
The grey’s coat is laid in scattered rings of dapple, and his head turns toward the groom’s hand.
Before the turf had its classics.
Provenance
- Maker
- John Wootton, 1723
- Era
- The Georgian Turf (1750–1837)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Made
- 1723
- Horse
- Lamprey
- Figure
- Sir William Morgan
- Source
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection · via Wikimedia Commons
Publicity
Clear — the historic British turf (the Victorian jockeys, the Vanity Fair subjects): a long-deceased figure with no post-mortem right of publicity in play. Sold as history, freely and openly.
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 2026-11-01. Wikimedia Commons licence tag, read 2026-11-01: PD-Art|PD-old-100-1923|deathyear=1764. The maker died in 1764.
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.