Artist. Born in Surrey, but spent most of his first eighteen years in the City of London, where his father, an American of Dutch parentage, was a fringe-maker in Newgate Street, just West of St. Paul’s Cathedral. In 1874, however, he married against the wishes of his father and, without any settled plans, arrived in Doncaster that September, at the time of the race meeting, where he saw the Duke of Hamilton’s horse, William, win the St. Leger. This inspired him to take up painting horses. At first, he did not succeed in this, and did rather better in painting coaches, which encouraged him to become a coach driver, firstly (for two years) from Wakefield to Lincoln, then from Doncaster to Halifax. Whilst on the latter route, his artistic skills were discovered, and he received many commissions to paint racehorses, including several from Queen Victoria. Even after he became well-known as a painter, he continued to work for some years as a coachman, on the London to York route, before retiring from the road to devote himself entirely to painting and settling, firstly in Doncaster, then in Meopham in Kent. For 32 years in succession, beginning in 1815, he painted every winner of the St. Leger. His three sons, John Fredrick, Charles, and Benjamin, all became painters. (bio by: Iain MacFarlaine)  Family links:  Spouses:  Ann Herring (1796 – 1838)*  Sarah Herring (1802 – 1882)*  Children:  Charles Herring (1828 – 1856)* *Calculated relationship