Agriculture in Art
John Frederick Herring Sr.
Pigs, 1854
John Frederick Herring, Sr., was a painter, sign maker and coachman in Victorian England. He was born in London in 1785, the son of a London merchant of Dutch parentage. His greatest interest were drawing and horses.
In 1845, Herring was appointed Animal Painter to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. He also was commissioned to produce several paintings for Queen Victoria, who remained a patron for the rest of his life.
In 1853, Herring moved to rural Kent in the southeast of England. He spent the last 12 years of his life as a country squire, painting agricultural scenes and narrative pictures.
Herring is considered one of the more eminent animal painters of mid-10th Century Europe.