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

William Waldorf 2nd Viscount Astor;
William Waldorf 3rd Viscount Astor and thence by descent to the present owner

STRUCTURE Original canvas. There are pin holes in each corner. There are a few minor spots of staining in the centre of the sky, otherwise the work appears in good overall condition. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT Under UV light certain areas fluoresce throughout the canvas but these appear to be touchings and reworkings by the artist. FRAME Held in a gilt plaster frame.
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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."

The present work was painted in the late 1930s at a time when Munnings was adding to his already numerous commissions for William Waldorf 2nd Viscount Astor (1879-1952).  It relates strongly to A Summer Evening, Cliveden (private collection), painted in 1939, which depicts Lord Astor, wearing the same cap, sitting on a shooting stick, with dogs at his feet and surrounded by a parade of mares and foals.  The trees on the horizon are similar suggesting the setting for the present portrait was also the paddock beyond the formal gardens at Cliveden, the family estate which had been a wedding gift from the sitter's father, William Waldorf 1st Viscount Astor (1848-1919), following his marriage to Nancy Witcher Langhorne in 1906.

Munnings evidently enjoyed his time at Cliveden and found it an inspiring place to paint; '...lying on a long sort of garden settee on the terrace at Cliveden, listening to the silvery sounds of fountains on the lawns below, I looked into the western sky and at the elm trees silhouetted against its light.  Cutting through the sound of playing fountains, a shrill whistling of happy families of swifts, birds whose ancestors wheeled and whistled over the same site centuries ago and whose descendants will wheel and whistle above the shell of Cliveden in years to come...' (Reginald Pound The Englishman, 1962, p.117).  This lyrical appreciation of the landscape is clearly evident in the present work. The lengthening shadows of evening enhance the majestic parkland which is rendered with typically deft brushstrokes while the last vestiges of sunlight illuminate the clouds directly behind the sitter's head, bringing the superb portraiture into sharp focus.  The chestnut horse Simondale II presumably belonged to Lord Astor's eldest son William, later 3^rd Viscount Astor, but known as Bill.  A myriad of colours play across the horse's flanks; this distinct use of reflected light, a defining aspect of Munnings' style, means the horse is in perfect tonal harmony with its surroundings.  This setting and manner, combined with Lord Astor's confident but relaxed riding style produce an overriding sense of bucolic serenity. 

There was clearly an enduring relationship between artist and sitter; he was one of the most successful owner-breeders of his generation who produced winners of eleven classic races  between 1917 and 1945.  The only major race to elude him was the Derby although he had the runner-up on five occasions.   He was born in New York but the family travelled extensively  in Europe before settling in England in 1889.  He attended Eton and New College, Oxford before embarking on a successful  political career which included his election as MP for Plymouth.   Following his ascendency to the peerage in 1919 he had to forfeit this seat.   Lady Astor stood in the ensuing bi-election and won, becoming the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons.  Despite his standing Lord Astor remained a modest man whose greatest passion was horses, characteristics which are clearly captured in the present work.