European and British Art, Part II
European and British Art, Part II
Property from a Private Collection
Happy Laughter
Lot Closed
July 13, 03:25 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection
Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S.
British
1878 - 1959
Happy Laughter
signed A.J. Munnings lower right
oil on panel
Unframed: 39.5 by 51cm., 15½ by 20in.
Framed: 57.5 by 68.5cm., 22¾ by 27in.
Foaled in 1950, by Lt. Col. E.C. Shirley at Ballykisteen, Happy Laughter, by Royal Charger out of Bray Melody by Coup de Lyon, was purchased as a yearling by the trainer Jack Jarvis for Hugh Hamilton Wills who had purchased the Hadrian Stud in Newmarket in 1947. At two, she won five times in seven starts, finished second and third. Her victories included the Stud Produce Stakes at Sandown, the Acorn Stakes at Epsom, and the Soltykoff Stakes at Newmarket. At three, having suffered a serious sinus infection, she surprisingly ran second in the Free Handicap at the Craven Meeting and then won the 1000 Guineas by two lengths, ridden by Emmanuel Mercer. After a disappointing finish in the Oaks, won by Lord Astor’s Ambiguity, also painted by Munnings, she went on to win the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, and the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood. Happy Laughter was voted best filly in the Free Handicap at both two and three.
This is a sketch for the painting of Happy Laughter depicted with the other starters before her 1,000 Guineas victory in 1953 (Munnings Art Museum, Dedham), (see E.J. Rousuck, “The Turf’s Recording Angel,” in The Thoroughbred Record, October 28, 1967, p. 1392). For large commissions, Munnings painted small sketches of his equine subjects. These quick, en plein air works, often on panel, show great spontaneity in Munnings’ brushwork and palette. Another sketch of Happy Laughter (facing in the opposite direction and without a saddle) is in the collection of the Munnings Art Museum.