Richard Singleton
- Oil on Canvas
- 24 x 29 in
- Edward Troye
-
Sold
Richard Singleton was a champion racehorse owned byåÊColonel Willa Viley. Viley was one of the most importantåÊpeople in the formation of Thoroughbred racing in Kentucky,åÊhelping form the Kentucky Association and owning andåÊbreeding several champions. His farm near GeorgetownåÊwas the base for all of his operations. Richard Singleton wasåÊamong the horses that gave Viley prominence. He started inåÊ14 four-mile-heat races and won all but two. In one notedåÊrace he ran 16 miles, winning three heats out of five. åÊ Troye painted Richard Singleton twice before he completedåÊthis painting, and those earlier two, virtually identical, areåÊconsidered Troye‰Ûªs finest works. William Elsey Connelley, inåÊhis History of Kentucky, Vol. 5, writes that when the initialåÊportrait was painted, Richard Singleton was ‰ÛÏundoubtedly theåÊgreatest racehorse in Kentucky.‰ÛåÊThis is a later portrait, showing the horse after his retirementåÊto stud. Alexander Mackay-Smith, the leading scholar ofåÊTroye, describes this painting as ‰ÛÏa later portrait of RichardåÊSingleton as a stallion, showing the horse perhaps 200 poundsåÊheavier, in breeding condition, and with more crest to hisåÊneck.‰Û Richard Singleton as a stallion was more important asåÊa dam sire, though the colt Monkey Dick performed well inåÊ1839. His bloodline, through his daughters Greasy Heel andåÊMary Brennan, extends to the present day. åÊ Richard Singleton was, in all likelihood, named for ColonelåÊRichard Singleton, a South Carolinian and one of the pillarsåÊof Thoroughbred racing and breeding in that region. He wasåÊdescribed as an excellent judge of horses and tactful in theåÊplacement of his horses in races. His success as a breeder isåÊalso described by Irving: ‰ÛÏAt one time the produce of Col.åÊSingleton‰Ûªs stud were accustomed to bringing the best pricesåÊand be sought after with avidity by all who were eitheråÊengaged upon the Turf, oråÊwere anxious to make their debutåÊwith some credit on it.‰ÛåÊA prominent member of South Carolina society, the colonelåÊowned more than 12,000 acres and numerous boats toåÊtransport his cotton to England. His daughter married theåÊson of President Martin Van Buren and was very popular inåÊWashington society. Singleton‰Ûªs horses raced in New Orleans,åÊCharleston, and Saratoga. Singleton hosted Troye at hisåÊelegant plantation, known as Melrose or Singleton Hall, nearåÊCamden in the spring of 1934. There, Troye painted five ofåÊSingleton‰Ûªs horses, a large commission for the artist. When Troye first went to Lexington in the autumn of 1834,åÊhe brought with him three of the five paintings he‰Ûªd paintedåÊfor Richard Singleton and displayed them in the lobby of theåÊPhoenix Hotel. It is likely that Willa Viley was one of his firståÊpatrons in Kentucky, either through a letter of introductionåÊfrom Colonel Richard Singleton or through Troye‰Ûªs paintingsåÊin the Phoenix Hotel.