05/29/2026
A portrait of a champion and a glimpse into the history of American thoroughbred racing. Learn more about Lot 246 “Charade” by Henry Stull and bid now at nealauction.com.
Henry Stull, Canadian/New York, 1851-1913
“Charade”, oil on canvas, 1894, signed and dated lower right, twice inscribed “T.O.H.P.” en verso, framed with brass title plaque.
Provenance: Descended in the family of Captain Richard Hancock of Charlottesville, VA through Thomasia Overton Hancock and then collaterally; Neal Auction, Apr. 19, 1997, lot 510; Neal Auction, Feb. 23, 2008, lot 380.
Initially an illustrator, Henry Stull became a prominent horse painter, and he painted the most famous thoroughbred racehorses of the day. Charade (m. Ada Belle, s. Charaxus), an 1889 bay c**t, was bred by Captain Richard Hancock of Ellerslie Stud, Charlottesville, Virginia. Charade won a number of named stakes including the 1891 Daisy Stakes (Sheepshead Bay), the 1891 Grand Union Hotel Handicap (Saratoga), the 1891 Test Stakes (Saratoga), the 1892 Carlton (Gravesend), the 1892 Pocantico (Morris Park), the 1892 Tidal Stakes (Sheepshead Bay), the 1893 Brookdale Stakes (Gravesend), the 1893 Metropolitan Handicap (Morris Park), and the 1895 Carter Handicap (Aqueduct).
Captain Richard Hancock served in the Civil War under the command of General Stonewall Jackson. He was wounded near Charlottesville where he was taken in by the Harris family of Ellerslie. He later married the Harris’ daughter, Thomasia. After the war, Captain Hancock founded the noted stud farm at Ellerslie. Thomasia and Richard Hancock’s son, Arthur B. Hancock, carried on the family horse breeding tradition, founding the Kentucky institution, Claiborne Farm.
