The Craven Heifer oil on canvas 56 x 66cm (22 1/16 x 26in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE: With Iona Antiques, London Private collection, UK
The Craven Heifer was bred and fed by the Reverend William Carr of Bolton Abbey in Craven, Yorkshire, one of the Duke of Devonshire's estates. During her five years she was a national phenomenon, famous for her size and weight.
Mr. John Watkinson of Halton East, north Yorkshire bought her for £200, an incredibly large fee for the time. He brought her down to London, a journey that took 73 days. She went on exhibition at the Cock Inn at Haymarket for an entrance price of 1s for ladies and gentlemen and 6d for servants. She weighed 312 stone and was eleven foot four inches long.
