| Collection |
MHS (unaccessioned) Art |
| Date |
September 1869 |
| Description |
E.J. (Edward John) Brock, Mr Henry Redwood's Manuka, September 1869, oil on artist board. Source unknown
By 1869 Henry Redwood could turn to a local horse painter to immortalise his winners. The colt Manuka 'The Magnificent' (The Peer out of Waimea) scooped the pool at the 1869 Canterbury Jockey Club Spring Meeting, winning the Derby, the Canterbury Cup and the Christchurch Plate. Nelson veterinary surgeon and artist Edward Brock painted this portrait just before Manuka left Nelson to race in the 1869 Melbourne Cup.
Edward Brock (c.1829 - 1905) graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 1851. He was appointed late in the Crimean War in 1856 to the 4th Infantry Division to care for the horses. He arrived in Nelson in 1857 and established his veterinary practice. Henry Redwood's commission revived Brock's second career as a horse painter, which he continued after moving to Christchurch in about 1877.
Brock's image of the sturdy healthy animal standing on a bed of clean straw and with water to drink promoted best animal care. Photographs of the popular painting also acted as an advertisement for Henry Redwood's state-of-the-art stables at Waimea. The well-ventilated stables were constructed of local red bricks, which you can see in the painting.
Disaster struck Manuka when he was injured during the precarious sea voyage to Melbourne and he failed to start, never to race again. Henry Redwood sold him in Australia and he lived his days in Tasmania, a successful stud animal until his death in 1891.
Label for Hidden Gems exhibition July to September 2014 written by Jane Vial, Guest Curator. |
| Year Range from |
1869 |
| Object ID |
0000.800.0855 |
| Object Name |
Painting |
| Other # |
0846 |
| People |
Redwood, Elizabeth (formerly Reeves) (nee Palmer)
Reeves, Elizabeth (nee Palmer) (later Redwood)
Palmer, Elizabeth (later Reeves) (later Redwood)
Redwood, Henry (Junior) |
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