- 75
Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S.
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Studies for 'Lord Astor's Horses' and 'The White 'Un'
- one sheet signed, inscribed, and dated "Jock" / ridden by H.M. King George V / for 9 years / a memento of Bygone Days for French from A. J. Munnings / Oct.16.1936
- pencil on paper, twenty three sheets of studies (eleven with studies also on the verso), sleeved and in a mahogany presentation box
- sight: 7 1/2 by 5 in.
- sight: 19.1 by 12.7 cm
Provenance
Sale: Christie's, New York, December 6, 1996, lot 186, illustrated
Acquired at the above sale
Acquired at the above sale
Literature
Sir Alfred Munnings, The Second Burst, London, 1951, p. 126, two sketches illustrated p. 128, one sketch illustrated p. 130
Condition
The sheets have not been examined out of their individual presentation mats. There are a few stains visible at the corner of some sheets, and a few others with occasional staining in isolated areas. One sheet has a larger stain in the lower left quadrant.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Once forming a sketchbook (now kept as a portfolio in a mahogany presentation box), this collection of drawings illustrates the artist’s painstaking process as he worked through two of his most important compositions. Nearly all of the sheets relate to Lord Astor’s Horses, of which Munnings recalled, “One of my last efforts at Manton was the painting of three of Lord Astor’s horses in one picture: Traffic Light, Rhodes Scholar, and Early School….The scene: the Downs, looking towards the west. The arrangement for this picture was not easy, and many were the pencil designs that I tried before starting” (Munnings, p. 126). Additionally, one sheet is linked to The White ‘Un (1936), a posthumous portrait of the late King George V on his white Highland, Jock, near an oak tree in Sandringham park. On another sheet, Munnings even goes so far as to practice his inscription for an oil sketch of Jock that he would later gift to French, the late King’s devoted groom, as a “memento of Bygone days.”