JOHN BOULTBEE 69 



sportsman as he is described in family papers as 

 being "great in the Scriptures as well as mighty 

 in the saddle." The picture referred to is now in 

 the possession of his descendants. 



In 1776, John Boultbee, then resident at 338, 

 Oxford Street, e.xhibited his maiden picture in the 

 Royal Academy ; this did not reflect the true bent 

 of his talent, being described in the catalogue as 

 " A Landscape." After this we lose sight of him 

 for seven years ; recovering the thread of his 

 career through his second contribution to the 

 Royal Academy in 17S3. This work, sent up 

 from Derby, where, as the catalogue shows, he 

 then lived, was the portrait of a stallion named 

 Pensoroso which he painted for T. W. Coke, Esq. 

 Mr. Coke, it may be added, was a member of 

 the family of Cokes, a scion of which was 

 William, a famous follower of the Ouorn hounds, 

 who gained a modest meed of immortality by in- 

 venting the low-crowned hat which was named 

 after him the "billy-cock." In 1785, for Mr. 

 Richard Tattersall, Boultbee painted the portrait 

 of Highflyer, one of the most celebrated horses 

 on the turf, and at the stud known to equine 

 history. 



Highflyer was bred by Sir Charles Bunbury 

 by King Herod, dam by Blank ; and was pur- 

 chased as a yearling at a very moderate price by 



