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

Waterhouse & Dodd, London;
Sotheby's, London, 13 May 1987, lot 75;
Richard Green, London, where purchased by the present owner c.1988

London, Leicester Galleries, Pictures of Horses, Hunting and Country Life by A J Munnings, 1913, no.18;
Norwich, Castle Museum, Loan Collection of Pictures Illustrating the work of A J Munnings RA, 1928, no.84;
London, Royal Academy, Diploma Gallery, Exhibition of Works by Sir Alfred J Munnings, KCVO, PPRA, 1956, no.15;
London, Sotheby's, An English Idyll, A Loan Exhibition of Works by Sir Alfred Munnings, 2001, no.28

A. J. Munnings, An Artist's Life, 1950, pp.226-7.

STRUCTURE Original canvas. There are a few minor areas of craquelure about the canvas but these appear stable and only visible upon very close inspection; otherwise the work appears in very good overall condition with strong passages of impasto. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT UV light reveals some retouching along the upper edge and further flecks in the sky and to the right of the tree in centre of the horizon. Some minor flecks along centre of lower edge and along right edge, including some cosmetic retouchings to the face of the seated woman nearest the right edge. FRAME Held in a gilt composite frame with a canvas inset.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'Case and Stones often foregathered with odd company in the garden behind the bush inn, sitting around a green, wooden table by a honeysuckle bower.  My painting things were taken up there one morning for a diversion, and quite by chance, just as I was starting to work, two strolling singers turned up.  One - a tall, dark girl, brown as a berry - stood by the Honeysuckle bower strumming a guitar.  In a contralto voice, helped by glasses of ale, she was singing th popular song of the day: "Somehwere the Sun is Shining".  A tranquil, carefree scene!  The flow of ale, the sunlight, the balmy scent of honeysuckle so enchced the sound of song and guitar, that the company - men, women, children, dogs, cats and fowls-seemed to fall into a gentle reverie as the hours slipped by.  This humble inn was appropriate for such doings.  There was a soothing, idle, holiday atmosphere about its garden: "Far from the Madding Crowd"'  (Sir Alfred Munnings, An Artists's Life, 1950, pp.225-6).

As this vivid recollection suggests the present work was executed with great spontaneity.  This was a practice which served Munnings well during this period when he would travel across his native East Anglia, with a caravan of horses, searching for 'moments of beauty'.  With its uncontrived depiction of rural society it is also strongly reminiscent of the Newlyn School, with whom Munnings had a close association having lived there in 1911.  The two figures to the far left of the composition are Gerald Stones and Thomas Case. Stones and Munnings had become friends while attending the Atelier Julian in Paris in 1902.  Thomas Case was a writer and poet who had attended Queen's College, Oxford and was working on an epic novel set in Norfolk.  Munnings had strong literary aspirations himself, publishing a collection of his own works, Ballads and Poems in 1957 which was praised by his friend John Masefield , Poet Laureate from 1878-1967, who wrote Munnings epitaph which is engraved at St. Paul's Cathedral,

'O friend, how very lovely are the things,
The English things, you helped us to perceive'.