George Stubbs, A.R.A.

Sir Walter Gilbey (1831-1914), Elsenham Hall, Essex;

Thence by descent to his son, Guy Gilbey (1868-1930), Sheering Hall, Essex;

Thence by inheritance to his wife, Mrs. Katharine Thurlow Gilbey (1874-1961), Sheering Hall, Essex;

Art market, London;

Where acquired by Jayne Wrightsman (1919-2019), New York, 1963;

By whom sold ("Property from the Collection of Mrs. Charles B. Wrightsman"), New York, Sotheby's, 4 June 1987, lot 63;

Where acquired by the present collector.

W. Gilbey, Life of George Stubbs, R. A., London 1898, p. 165, cat. no. 31 (as "The Prince of Wales' Park Hack on the Banks of the Serpentine in Hyde Park");

Sport and the Horse, exhibition catalogue, Richmond 1960, p. 33, cat. no. 24, reproduced;

E. Fahy and Sir F. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Vol. 5, Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, New York 1973, pp. 213-217, cat. no. 23, reproduced;

J. Egerton, George Stubbs, Painter. Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven/London 2007, pp. 506-507, cat. no. 275A, reproduced.

Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Sport and the Horse, 1 April - 15 May 1960, no. 24 (lent by Mrs. Katharine T. Gilbey).

Dated 1789, this painting from Stubb’s late career depicts the tranquil exchange between a bay horse and a spaniel–surely the beloved companions of an unidentified aristocratic patron. Far from the bustle of the racecourse or stables, the serene lakeside setting–identifiable as London’s Hyde Park from the towers of Westminster Abbey faintly visible on the horizon–imbues the composition with a reflective calm and poetic sensibility that echoes the temperament of its equine and canine subjects. Executed during a period when Stubbs explored themes of repose and simplicity, this painting captures the spirit of an age that revered both the elegance of nature and the companionship of animals.

The present painting was first recorded in the collection of Sir Walter Gilbey, a prosperous wine merchant and horse breeder, whose collection of sporting pictures at his country estate, Elsenham Hall, was at one time unrivalled in breadth and quality. Also an author, Gilbey published the first serious study of Stubb’s life and work in 1898, in which he refers to the present painting as “The Prince of Wales’ Park Hack on the Banks of the Serpentine in Hyde Park,”. Indeed, Stubbs was patronized by the Prince of Wales, later King George IV (1762-1830), whose equestrian portrait of 1791 (London, Royal Collection Trust, inv. no. 400142) depicts a very similar view of Hyde Park. This identification seems unlikely however, given that the horse depicted is a cob, a type of horse characterized by its stout build and steady disposition, well-suited to children and elderly riders. The sturdy yet unpretentious cob would have made an unlikely mount for the prince, an avid equestrian.