Lady Suffolk The Celebrated Trotting Mare.
date: label: Date made
content: 1857
name: label: maker
content: Lewis, George W.
label: original artist
content: Clarke, Robert A.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Color print of a jockey riding a gray mare on a race course, Beacon Course, Hoboken,N.J., July 12, 1843 .
label: Description
content: A color print of jockey riding a gray mare on a race track. The road marker reads 2:26 ½, 1843. The horse is drawn out of proportion, and length and muscular build are emphasized. The jockey wears narrow pants, a short jacket, and a cap. Grassy fields appear behind a wooden fence in the background.
label: Description
content: Lady Suffolk, known as the “Old Gray Mare,” was foaled in 1833 in Smithtown, Suffolk County, Long Island. Her sire was Young Engineer, making her a descendent of the famous thoroughbred Messenger who had founded the Standardbred breed; her dam was Jenny. David Bryant purchased the mare in 1835 and they remained together until 1851. She entered her first race in 1838 ridden by Hiram Woodruff. Lady Suffolk trotted in 161 races between 1838 and 1854, winning 88 of them and earning over $35,000 in purse money. In her prime she traveled through the major cities, appearing from Boston to New Orleans. However, in the last six years of her career, she raced only seven times because harness racing had begun to replace under saddle trotting. In 1843, ridden by Albert Conklin, Lady Suffolk was the first trotter to go the mile in under 2:30, which made her the first “Queen of the Turf.” This feat reduced the 1834 record by almost five seconds, coming in at 2:26 ½. Her popularity was greatly due to William T. Porter, who used his weekly newspaper, The Spirit of the Times, to publicize her exploits. She died in 1855 in Vermont and was eventually inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1967.
label: Description
content: George W. Lewis was a New York City lithographer from 1841-1860. He is listed as an engraver after 1860. He was with the firm of Lewis and Brown from 1844-1848.
label: Description
content: Robert A. Clarke born in 1817, Ireland. He settled in New York City in 1843. He exhibited work many times at the National Academy and the American Art Union. In 1850 he relocated to Philadelphia where he exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy. In 1874 Clarke and Samuel Maverick formed the Maverick-Clarke Lithograph Company in San Antonio, TX. Robert Clarke was an active artist from 1844-1852 and was noted for his animal paintings. Clarke was the artist and Lewis was the lithographer in their firm.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Horses
label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1850-1859
label: related event
content: Lady Suffolk on the Beacon Course
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: Art
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content: Peters Prints
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content: Domestic Furnishings
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content: Horses
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3550
label: catalog number
content: 60.3550
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 12 1/4 in x 19 1/4 in; 31.115 cm x 48.895 cm