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Wellington County Museum & Archives

Archive Record


Accession # A2015.78
Title Copy print of painting of Crown Imperial the race horse, ca. 1880.
Date Circa 1880
Description Copy print of painting of Crown Imperial the race horse, ca. 1880.

ph 44363: Digital copy, 2015, of an oil painting on canvas panel, ca. 1880, entitled "Crown Imperial" by Canadian artist John J. Kenyon (1862-1937); it depicts the brown race horse in profile facing left, on a gravelled surface; signed lower left, "J. J. Kenyon. Del."; inscribed below horse, "Crown Imperial. Record 2.27 1/2 / Sired by Imperial Dam Lady Bryant. 2.41 by Brignali 229 1.2 property of Donaldson & Carmichael / Credit Valley Stock Farm Hillsburg Ont."; added by a different hand at a later date is a cream-coloured barn door at left and a pink blanket on wall at right; label on reverse of canvas panel for The Art Metropole in Toronto, dealing in paints, canvas, and other materials for artists and decorators.

Crown Imperial was a standardbred horse born in 1873 to standardbreds Imperial (born 1868) and Lady Bryant (born 1862). The website allbreedpedigree.com traces Crown Imperial's lineage back to the mid-17th century; a page listing his recent 19th-century ancestry is filed with print out of image [ www.allbreedpedigree.com (2015) ].

The Donaldson and Carmichael listed as owners of the horse may have been Malcolm Carmichael and William Donaldson. The 1875-1876 Directory of Wellington County lists both men as owning properties near to one another on the edge of Hillsburgh, Carmichael at the west part of Lot 23, and Donaldson, a merchant, on the west part of Lot 25, both in Concession 8 of Erin Township. W.F. MacKenzie's history of Erin Township (published 1906) states that at time of publication there were "three large general stores in the village" of Hillsburgh, including that of "Donaldson & Carmichael."

According to the website http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca (2015), artist "John J. Kenyon was born in Washington, Ontario on January 10, 1862 and lived in Berlin, now Kitchener, in his early years. There he learned to paint and taught art. He moved to Blair in about 1895 and lived there for the remainder of his life. Mr. Kenyon was a lover as well as an owner of horses and his best works were paintings of fine horses including those on the Cruickston Park Farm near Blair. It is said that Mr. Kenyon followed the 'Grand Circuit' races painting the portraits of the winning horses and then selling them to the owners of the horses. Like many artists of his day, Mr. Kenyon was keenly interested in photography and used that medium to assist in his paintings. He would travel to fairs and horse shows where he would photograph animals that he would later paint. He also made the rounds of local schools taking class photographs and selling prints to the teachers and parents of the students. Mr. Kenyon died in Blair on March 4, 1937 and is buried in the Blair Cemetery."
Creator \ Maker Kenyon, John J.
Item Name Copy Print
DVD
Oil Painting
Person \ Organization Art Metropole, The
Carmichael, Malcolm
Credit Valley Stock Farm
Cruickston Park Farm
Donaldson and Carmichael
Donaldson, William
Kenyon, John J.
Place Berlin
Blair
Canada
Credit Valley
Erin Twp.
Hillsburg
Hillsburgh
Kitchener
Ontario
Toronto
Washington
Waterloo County
Wellington County
Subject Agriculture
Animals
Arts
Gambling
Genealogy
Interiors
Sports
Photo, Map # ph 44363
Year Range from 1875
Year Range to 1885
Accession # A2015.78
Containers STACKS
AVC16