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Watercolour
John Burley Waring, born 1823 - died 1875 - Enlarge image
Watercolour
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
1846 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
John Burley Waring, born 1823 - died 1875 (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour on paper
- Credit Line:
Waring Bequest
- Museum number:
809:16
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F, case WD, shelf 57, box A
This watercolour shows the boxer John Perry fighting Ben Caunt at Westminster Baths, London, in 1846. Perry was born in Canada to African parents and came to Britain in the mid-1840s. Like many black men in Britain at that time he had served in the British navy. After he was discharged he earned a precarious living from boxing. In 1846, the year of this watercolour, Perry had fought his first professional opponent, Bill Burton. An onlooker described his fighting style: 'Poised on his toes, he danced around his man, jabbed with consistency and accuracy and delivered his punches cleanly. He was perfection as far as science was concerned.' Not long afterwards Perry was transported to Australia, having been convicted of involvement in a forgery ring. In 1849 he won the Australian heavyweight title.
