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Artist or Maker: George Stubbs, A.R.A. (1724-1806)

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Provenance: Probably commissioned by Davies Davenport (1757-1837), of Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, or by his son Edward Davies Davenport (1778-1863), of Capesthorne, and by descent.

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Notes: The property of the Bromley-Davenport Family

This is a particularly beautiful example of Stubbs's late work. As would be expected in a picture from this period of the artist's oeuvre, the landscape is painted very freely, while the subject itself is treated with all the subtlety and perception that establishes Stubbs as an unrivalled painter of animals.

Several key elements of the composition - the presumably idealised landscape and the stance and direction of the horse - are shared by other late horse portraits by the artist (e.g. Ballarina, of 1800, Truss, also of 1803, and Eagle and Ambrosio, both of 1804). Yet the present work, in its state of preservation and the elegance with which the animal's conformation is recorded, stands apart as being particularly fine.

Davies Davenport, High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1783, and M.P. for Cheshire 1806-1830, was noted as being 'markedly independent' in parliament (History of the House of Commons, 1790-1820, III, 1986, pp. 571-72).

We are grateful to Judy Egerton for her help with this catalogue entry.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

For the duration of the view this picture is presented in a frame which is on loan from Arnold Wiggins & Sons. Please contact the department for more information.