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DOS2005-PC-152
Portraiture of the Cullen Arabian
DOS2005-PC-152

Portraiture of the Cullen Arabian

Date1756
After work by Thomas Spencer (1700 - 1763/67)
Engraver Richard Houston (1721-1775)
OriginEngland, London
MediumMezzotint with etching and line engraving
DimensionsOverall: 12 1/2 × 14 3/8in. (31.8 × 36.5cm) Other (Plate): 11 7/8 × 13 7/8in. (30.2 × 35.2cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1955-117
DescriptionLower margin reads: "T. Spencer del./ R. Houston fecit./ The Portraiture OF THE Cullen Arabian./ This Horse was Imported into England by M.r Moscoe and was bought of him by the R.t Hon.ble y.e Lord Cullen/ he got John Warren Esq.rs brown horse Camillus and his mare Camilla, and Mr. Williams's horse Moscoe, he / Covers every Season at 10 Guineas a Mare, at Ruston, near Kettering in Northamptonshire./ This Horse was imported into England by Mr. Moscoe and was bought of him by the Rt. Honble. ye Lord Cullen he got John Warren Esqr's brown horse Camillus and his mare Camilla, and Mr. Williams's horse Moscoe, he Covers every Season at 10 Guineas a Mare, at Rushton, near Kettering in Northamptonshire./ Publish'd March 1756/ as the Act directs."
Label TextThis print is part of a set of twelve portraits of famous racehorses published by artist and engraver Thomas Spencer, who was a student of James Seymour, the most famous sporting painter of the 1750s. Six of the portraits were by Seymour and six were by Spencer. The prints, engraved by Richard Houston, with a decorative rococo border that would have made these prints stand-out when framed. CWF owns five of the prints - see 1955-117 to 1955-121.

The Cullen Arabian was presented by the Emperor of Morocco to the British consul and brought to England in 1745. He was sold to Charles Cockayne, 5th Viscount Cullen of Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire, hence his name. (Though it's thought he might have been a Barb). He sired around 30 foals between 1747 and 1760, many of them becoming famous racehorses or extensions of important bloodlines. Some of his offspring were imported to the North American colonies including Skim (imported in 1760) and Aristotle (fl. 1755), who was imported circa 1763-1764 by Mr. Bladen and stood at Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Virginia in 1773.

Lower margin reads: "The Portraiture OF THE Cullen Arabian. This Horse was Imported into England by M.r Moscoe and was bought of him by the R.t Hon.ble y.e Lord Cullen he got John Warren Esq.rs brown horse Camillus and his mare Camilla, and Mr. Williams's horse Moscoe, he Covers every Season at 10 Guineas a Mare, at Ruston, near Kettering in Northamptonshire. This Horse was imported into England by Mr. Moscoe and was bought of him by the Rt. Honble. ye Lord Cullen he got John Warren Esqr's brown horse Camillus and his mare Camilla, and Mr. Williams's horse Moscoe, he Covers every Season at 10 Guineas a Mare, at Rushton, near Kettering in Northamptonshire."