SPORTING prints, especially of horses, are still a familiar and comforting sight on the walls of country houses and hotels throughout Ireland. English auctioneer Dreweatts is holding an important sale of sporting prints at its Donnington Priory saleroom in Berkshire on April 20th.
Its catalogue features two lots with particular appeal to Irish collectors. A set of four aquatints shows the running of the Conyngham Cup in 1872 at Punchestown Races in Co Kildare (£1,500-£2,000/€1,702-€2,270). The prints were made in Dublin that year and dedicated to the Marquis of Drogheda. The same estimate is assigned to four prints of Tally Ho! to the Sports, The Noble Tipsby Francis Calcraft Turner, a fashionable early Victorian horse painter.
According to Dreweatts’ spokeswoman Vanessa Clewes Salmon, they show the Marquis of Waterford and members of the Tipperary Hunt (aka The Noble Tips) in the beautiful Irish countryside.
Racegoers at Newbury can view highlights from the sale in the pavilions overlooking the pre-parade ring on April 15th and 16th.
For online bidding, see dnfa.com
