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Lot Essay
Alfred Munnings is regarded as the first equine artist to acknowledge that a horse takes on colors of its surroundings and this particular use of light became a hallmark of his paintings, setting him apart from previous sporting artists. Previously, no artist had depicted this effect, and Going to the Post is an extraordinary example of Munnings’s use of reflected light in the glorious shine of a race horse’s coat. While painting this horse in the sun, Munnings captures the blues radiating down from the sky, which not only highlight the horse’s neck and rump but also colors the shadows in the jockey’s silks and breeches. The yellow and green hues from the grass in turn reflect upward, coloring the shadows on the horse’s stomach and legs.
As the inscription on the reverse of the work explains, Going to the Post was a Christmas gift from the artist to his wife Violet, herself an avid equestrienne who often served as a model for her husband.
We are grateful to Lorian Peralta-Ramos for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry, and for confirming the authenticity of this work, which will be included in her forthcoming Sir Alfred Munnings catalogue raisonné.
As the inscription on the reverse of the work explains, Going to the Post was a Christmas gift from the artist to his wife Violet, herself an avid equestrienne who often served as a model for her husband.
We are grateful to Lorian Peralta-Ramos for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry, and for confirming the authenticity of this work, which will be included in her forthcoming Sir Alfred Munnings catalogue raisonné.