Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959)

Munnings study of five horse heads captures, in fluid brushwork, the easy grace and elegance of a finely bred horse. The more heavily worked vignettes are rendered with a portraitist's keen analytical eye, yet his unwavering practice of painting en plein air is reflected in his experimention with the fall of afternoon light on the cheek bones and ears and the various reflected tones rather than exact anatomy.

The artist has cleverly offset the studies of the bay horse against a yellow background, while for the chestnut, which may well be Rufus Lady Munnings hunter whom he used in numerous racing scenes, a sierra pigment has been selected.

We would like to thank Lorian Peralta-Ramos for kindly assisting in cataloguing this work, which will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist.