A Sketch At The Grand National" How Much Zoedone? 1883 Watercolour by George Finch Mason
$1,200
Art Sz: 8 3/4"H x 11"W
Frame Sz: 10"H x 12"W
Watercolour & bodycolour
The subject of the sketch, Zoedone, was a famous chestnut mare owned and ridden by the Austro-Hungarian nobleman Count Charles Kinsky.
Regarding the monetary details and racing metrics surrounding Zoedone at the Grand National:
Purchase Price: Count Kinsky purchased Zoedone in late 1882 for £800, with a £200 contingency payout added because she went on to win the Grand National. (She was originally bought as a hunter for a modest £170 before her racing potential was recognized).
Winning Odds: Zoedone won the 1883 race at starting odds of 100/7 (roughly 14/1).
Slowest Time Record: Ridden in exceptionally heavy mud against the smallest field in the history of the race (only 10 runners), Zoedone completed the course in 11 minutes and 39 seconds. This stood as the slowest winning time in Grand National history for 118 years.
George Finch Mason (1850-1915) was a sporting artist, author and illustrator, specialising in humorous studies and caricatures. His father was a schoolmaster at Eton and he was educated there in 1860-64. He contributed to several books including Humours of the Hunting Field (1886), Flowers of the Hunt (1889), The White Hart and other Stories (1891), The Run of the Season (1902), and Heroes and Heroines of the Grand National (1907 and 1911). He was a frequent contributor to many sporting publications of the time and was ‘Uncle Toby’ of The Sporting Times. He also worked for Punch.