J. F. Herring, born in 1795, undertook commissions to paint horses for titled owners. In about 1830 he was in debt and W.T. Copeland took up the bills and offered the artist a house on his estate in Essex. He also commissioned Herring to paint his own racehorses, pictures of fox hunting and scenes of rural life incorporating horses. It is from these paintings that most of the scenes for "The Hunt" are derived, although some were derived from the work of other sporting artists.
