A Farmer and his Prize Heifer

Unknown

about 1844

Oil on Canvas

80 x 90 cm

This painting shows Maria, a five-year-old prize heifer bred by farmer Ralph Walker of Middleton Grange near West Hartlepool in County Durham. The figure holding the rope is Henry Hamilton, a servant who had been with Ralph Walker’s family for over forty years. Maria weighed 154 stone and was slaughtered on 2 April 1844.