Cork artist made his mark with Punchestown Races painting

Art & Antiques: Des O'Sullivan reports on Christie's sale of the collection of BJ Eastwood in London

'Punchestown Races, 1868' by the Cork artist John Fergus O'Hea.

A large and historic topographical painting by Cork artist John Fergus O’Hea of the inaugural Prince of Wales Plate at Punchestown Racecourse in 1868 made £694,500 (€811,590) over a top estimate of £150,000 (€175,289) at Christie’s sale of the collection of BJ Eastwood in London last week.

Photography was in its infancy when the Prince of Wales went to Punchestown against the wishes of his mother Queen Victoria who worried about the reputation of the then 26-year-old prince, his passion for horse racing and pursuit of amusement. The first known photographs of the Punchestown festival were taken that day by John Chancellor who ran a studio in Dublin. He commissioned the painting from O’Hea.