Benjamin Marshall (8 November 1768 – 29 January 1835)Noakes, Aubrey. 1978. ''Ben Marshall, 1768–1835''. Leigh-on-Sea: F. Lewis. p. 27. . was an English sporting and animal painter. He was a follower of

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds and Thoma ...

and studied under Lemuel Abbott for three years.

Life

He was born in Seagrave,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

to Charles and Elizabeth Marshall. He initially focused on portrait painting, until at the age of 26 he began to concentrate on horses. He exhibited thirteen pictures, chiefly portraits of racehorses and their owners, at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, 1801–1812 and 1818–19. His portraits of sporting characters included those of J. G. Shaddick, 1806, and

Daniel Lambert Daniel Lambert ( 1770 – 1809) was an English gaol keeper and animal breeder from Leicester, famous for his unusually large size. After serving four years as an apprentice at an engraving and die casting works in Birmingham, he returned ...

, 1807. Two pictures of fighting cocks, exhibited in 1812, were engraved in mezzotint by Charles Turner in the same year with the titles of ''The Cock in Feather'' and ''The Trimm'd Cock''. Other engraved pictures are ''Hap-hazard'' and ''Muly Moloch'', racehorses belonging to the

Earl of Darlington Earl of Darlington is a title that has been created twice, each time in the Peerage of Great Britain. Baroness von Kielmansegg, half-sister of King George I, was made countess of Darlington in 1722. This creation was for life only, and so the t ...

, engraved as a pair by W. and G. Cooke, 1805, from pictures at

Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...

; ''The Earl of Darlington and his Foxhounds'', by T. Dean, 1805, and the companion subject, ''Francis Dukinfield Astley and his Harriers'', by R. Woodman, 1809; ''Sir Teddy'', mezzotint by Charles Turner, 1808; ''Sancho'', a pointer belonging to Sir John Shelley, etched by Charles Turner in 1808; and ''Diamond'', a racehorse, engraved in mezzotint by W. Barnard in 1811. Sixty paintings of sportsmen, horses, and dogs by Marshall were engraved by John Scott for Wheble's ''Sporting Magazine'', vols. vii-lxxxi., and eight types of horses by Marshall, also engraved by Scott, appeared in ''The Sportsman's Repository'', 1820. Marshall's exhibited and engraved works represent but a small proportion of the commissions which he carried out for patrons of the turf and masters of hounds throughout the country. A number of his pictures of horses are in the collection of Sir

Walter Gilbey Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet, (2 May 1831 – 12 November 1914) was an England, English Vintner, wine-merchant, horse-breeder, author, and philanthropist. Early life Gilbey was born at 11, Windhill, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to Henry ...

. About 1800–1810, Marshall was living at 23 Beaumont Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

. In 1812 he relocated to Newmarket, and was often described as "Marshall of Newmarket". He was seriously injured in a coach crash in 1819 which prevented him from painting for a year, and left him with permanent disability. He became a regular contributor of letters about horse racing in ''

The Sporting Magazine ''The Sporting Magazine'' (1792–1870) was the first English sporting periodical to devote itself to every type of sport. Its subtitle was "Monthly Calendar of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chase and Every Other Diversion Interesting to the ...

'' from 1821 until 1833, writing under the pseudonym 'The Observator'. He died on 29 January 1835. His son Lambert Marshall (13 November 1809- 25 May 1873) was also a sporting painter but without the success of his father. He was reduced to teaching drawing in BrightonBrighton Gazette, 11 September 1856, p.4 and finally the Workhouse there.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Benjamin 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters 1768 births 1835 deaths 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists