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

Rayner MacConnal, London where purchased in June 1963 by the father of the present owners

Sir Alfred Munnings, The Finish, 1952, illustrated between pp.216-217

The canvas has not been lined. There is another canvas stretched on the reverse by the artist with annotations and brush marks. The work is slightly dirty and would benefit from a light clean. Otherwise in excellent original condition. UV light inspection reveals no evidence of any retouching or restoration. Held in a simple wooden gilt frame.
"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."

‘I am standing on the course - the most beautiful course in the world: cloudless October sky, a faint wind from the east.... I am looking at the scene, the old, old scene - a centuries old scene. Horses come up the course looking like those of years ago....Bright colors in the sun just the same as of yore.... What a sight for the artist! with the long shadows and the lights on the boots, lights on the horses.... This is the best picture I have ever seen...’ (Alfred Munnings, The Finish, 1952, pp.216-17).

Although At the Start, Newmarket began as a sketch for a larger painting, it undoubtedly holds its own as a complete picture. It depicts the horses and jockeys gathering at the starting line for the Cambridgeshire Stakes and captures a moment of calm and anticipation as the horses and riders prepare for the race. Munnings’ ability to isolate telling moments in the paddock or to compose remarkably complex groupings of owners, trainers, and horses had made Munnings the unquestioned master of the English race track.

According to a pencil inscription on the reverse At the Start, Newmarket was painted in June 1939 and is illustrated in Munnings’ biography published in 1952. The illustration of At the Start, Newmarket in The Finish shows the painting without the horse’s numbers which Munnings presumably added at a later date, either for artistic reasons or to satisfy the request of a buyer. There is a study for the left side of this painting, depicting the two horses with the jockeys in blue and yellow, in the collection of the Munnings Museum at Dedham, titled Before the Race. Between 1940 and 1959 Munnings included a painting of the start of a race in virtually every Royal Academy show. These exhibits varied in the level of their finish; some were sketches for more finished pictures. By the end of the Second World War his ‘Starts’ were the principal focus of his art. In part, Munnings had become resistant to the commissioned work that he felt so constrained his freedom, but more importantly after the war he was living again at his country house in Dedham - close enough to the racecourse at Newmarket (about 40 miles away) to allow him to visit regularly throughout the racing season. One of the oldest racing venues in England, hallowed by Royal sponsorship dating to the seventeenth century, Newmarket's courses were open to the sky and the expansive heathland in a way that newer tracks closer to London were not. In addition to watching three or four races a day, as he often did, Munnings kept a studio right at the track (through the courtesy of the Jockey Club) in an old rubbing barn. As he wrote in 1952, the subject of the present picture held a particular fascination for him; ‘Each start was a fresh picture for me, as they have been, meeting after meeting, year after year.’ (ibid Munnings, p.207)

Munnings frequently described the different ‘Starts’ that he witnessed in the autobiography on which he was working concurrently, and he ruefully acknowledged the frustrations he faced in getting the specific character of these always-unique moments onto canvas. Photographs of Munnings in his studio from these years often show him with two or three distinctive ‘Starts’ and the supporting studies arranged around him.