John McAuliffe (1830-1900) Lived/Active: New York

Harness Racing
Signed and dated (l.r.): J. McAuliff 1856
Oil on canvas
26” x 36”, 30” x 40” with frame.
Over-all in great condition, minor scattered in-painting in sky, lined.
Provenance: Collection of John Greenberger, Massachusetts; Andrew Wolfe, Rochester, New York.
Born in Ireland, John McAuliffe came to New York City in 1847 where he worked and lived most of his life. He began his career as a house painter but soon found an outlet for his horse paintings, mostly in the sport of harness racing, which became America’s first mass-supported spectator sport. Although little is known about McAuliffe, his subjects and clients were among the elite. He painted extensively for the later Robert Bonner, Commodore Dickinson, Col. Kipp, Sheppard Knapp, Gabe Case, and Mesrs. Wakeman, Hammond, and others.