Best known for his equine art, he was the son of John Frederick Herring, Sr., animal and sporting painter.

John F. Herring, Jr. was born in Doncaster c.1820; an older brother born 1815 and bearing the same name, presumably had died before 1820. John, as well as his brothers Charles and Benjamin all became painters in the style of their father and often collaborated on a single painting. Herring Jr. undoubtedly benefited from his father's popularity with the British nobility and his sporting and animal paintings became increasingly popular. After 1836, Herring Sr. began incorporating the Sr. at the end of his signature to distinguish his works from those of his son's.

Though he stayed with the subject matter a...