John Frederick Herring Jr., (1815-1907)
John F. Herring Jr. was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire c.1820, to the well-known 19th-century artist John Frederick Herring Sr. (1795–1865), who at the time, was considered one of England's great sporting and equestrian artists, patronized by the english aristocracy.The father's mastery of the brush, and popularity with the nobility, served his son, Herring Jr, well. Early on, John Jr. was exposed to fine painting and wealthy patrons.
John Herring Jr. developed a love for painting, a passion also shared by his brothers Charles and Benjamin. Three of the four brothers became artists, painting in the same style as their father, often collaborating on a single painting.
In the years after 1836, Herring Sr., feeling threatened by the teenage John Herring Jr.’s ability and growing popularity, began incorporating the tag "SR" at the end of his signature. John Herring Jr. continued painting, in the tradition of his father, the sporting and animal pictures; however, as his artistic prowess improved, his style changed: he loosened his brushwork and widened his landscape views.The placement of farm animals along the banks of a stream or within a farmyard were characteristic of the work of John F. Herring Jr.