Follower of John Nost Sartorius 'Palm Flower and foal' - a mare and foal in a wooded landscape inscribed on an old label verso 'Palm Flower/the property of Sir Sitwell Sitwell 1802', oil on canvas 41 x 51cm The present painting is dated 1802, but this is not the 1802 foal at foot as it was a chestnut filly. As Palmflower tragically had dead twins in 1801, as Sitwell’s only earlier foaling, either the date is wrong or Sitwell decided to have Palmflower represented with Cockfighter at foot, which seems the probable answer, as he was this colour and seems to have had no white on his legs although there is only a sketch of sorts in black and white to vaguely confirm that. In 1802, Cockfighter was still regarded as a champion, although he actually became a very moderate stallion and Palmflower herself left no line behind her. We are grateful to David Oldrey for his kind assistance with the catalogue entry. Condition report: Oil on canvas which has been lined. The canvas is in plane with good tension. The paint layer has a network of age cracks some of which are slightly raised in the lower right quadrant. There is some abrasion to the thinner paint passages. There is extensive, but finely applied, retouching across the surface covering age cracks. The varnish is even, semi-matte and slightly yellowed with a layer of dust across the surface.