Running out of the Course

S. W. Fores|Thomas Rowlandson

January 1, 1799 · Hand-colored etching and aquatint · Drawings and Prints

The print comes from a group by Rowlandson devoted to moments in horse racing--interestingly none shows a finish. When first published around 1789, the titles were "The Mount," "The Start," "The Betting Post," and "The Course." The present example comes from an expanded reissue of 1798-99 with titles altered to "Mounting" (59.533.1697), "Racing" (59.533.1694), "Betting" (59.533.1695), with "Between Heats" (59.533.514, 59.533.1700), and "Weighing" (59.533.1696) and "Running out of the Course" (59.533.1698) added. One of the latter, this shows a jockey struggling to control his mount which threatens spectators--fences rarely lined courses at this period, even near the finish.

Artist

S. W. Fores|Thomas Rowlandson

Date

January 1, 1799

Medium

Hand-colored etching and aquatint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959