Sir Alfred J. Munnings, P.R.A

The present work belongs to a series of pictures of ponies grazing near the Suffolk/Norfolk border's gravel pits, visible as the brown ridge in the distance. Grey colored skies broken with thin strips of white clouds portend the storms that threatened Munnings throughout his summer wanderings.  Dampened light tones and hazy shadow strokes of paint play across the ponies, who roam freely among the grasses.  Despite the absence of a groom in this work, the ponies were carefully handled, as Munnings often directed the horses to pose or walk in front of him.  With several canvases in progress at one time, the artist could switch one for the other should the stormy light suddenly alter from sunny yellow to rainy blue, or if horses startled at approaching thunder---allowing the completion of various compositional themes simultaneously.