Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S.

Lipton Tea Company
Arthur Godfrey (1955)
Richard Green, London (1985)
Mrs. R. R. Severud, Greenwich, Connecticut
Richard Green, London
Acquired from the above in 1993

The following condtion report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas is lined with glue as an adhesive. The texture of the paint is undisturbed by the lining. The paint layer is clean and varnished. There is no damage evident and there appear to have been no retouches. The painting should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Although the huntsman in this work is unknown, it is possibly Munnings' groom, Ned, a local Cornish lad working with the hounds of the Madron Kennels. The lovely grey mare is most certainly The Duchess, whom Munnings purchased in Dublin in 1913. The catalogue entry for her in the horse sale advertised  that "she was 15.2 hands six years old. She was put in the sale by the executors of a late judge who had driven her in his brougham" (Sir Alfred J. Munnings, An Artist's Life, London, 1950, p. 283). Munnings was enormously fond of her and sought to capture her image frequently (see: Munnings, An Artist's Life, p. 201 for an illustrated study).

Munnings first visited Cornwall in 1908, and lived there from years 1911 to 1915. Although he often painted and socialized with artists from the Newlyn School, he was not actually a part of the School itself. However, he did absorb their sensitivity to light and landscape and his painting matured significantly during this period.

Although the present work's landscape is streaked with the long early morning shadows, the mare is luminous against the grey sky. The sun casts golden highlights on her coat creating a feeling of warmth amidst an otherwise chilly morning. The repetitive patterns of white on the hounds and the small intermittent clouds highlight the mare's presence and add animation and vibrancy to the darker scene beyond.

Munnings enthusiasm for this composition is evident by the wonderful impasto left behind by the fluidity of his brush. Working en plein air in this transient morning light he leaves heavy bands of paint that not only describe but physically form the distant fields and hills. The whip is captured in a calm and almost contemplative moment as he watches his hounds at work. The horse strides with the same focused purpose as the hounds; with ears pricked in anticipation, she knows of the hunt that is to come. Munnings' thorough knowledge of horses enabled him to articulate the character of his equine subjects as well as any talented human portraitist and, characteristically, it is the horse in this painting that is most finely rendered.