Product Description

Yale University Press is pleased to announce a new exclusive publishing agreement with the Kimbell Art Museum

An exquisite book that celebrates the central subject in the work of George Stubbs, whom many consider to be the greatest painter of horses in the history of art

A versatile genius whose oeuvre includes paintings, engravings, and detailed anatomical studies, George Stubbs (1724–1806) was fascinated by horses. This handsome book presents for the first time the wide range of his equine imagery, from refined portraits of racehorses to violent scenes of horses attacked by lions in the wild.

Taking full account of the associations and status of the “noble horse” in eighteenth-century Britain and the colorful world of its devotees—both high and low—the authors examine Stubbs’s work from different points of view and offer many fresh interpretations. Malcolm Warner discusses how horses were regarded in Britain in Stubbs’s time, the unexpected connection between his horse-and-lion compositions and the creation of the English thoroughbred, and his classicism. Robin Blake examines the young Whig noblemen who were Stubbs’s first patrons, the grooms, jockeys, trainers, and other attendants who appear in his horse portraits, and his curious dealings with the Prince of Wales. The book also includes an essay by conservators Lance Mayer and Gay Myers on Stubbs’s experiments with wax and enamel.

For admirers of Stubbs’s art, eighteenth-century English painting, and horses, this book is an essential addition to their bookshelves.

Stubbs and the Horse is the catalogue for the first major exhibition on the artist in more than twenty years. It is on view at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth (November 14, 2004, to February 6, 2005); the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (March 13 to May 29, 2005); and the National Gallery, London (June 29 to September 25, 2005).

Malcolm Warner, Senior Curator at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, is the author of several books, including The Victorians: British Painting, 1837-1901 and Millais: Portraits; Robin Blake is an independent scholar based in London and is the author of a forthcoming biography on Stubbs; Lance Mayer and Gay Myers are consulting conservators based at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #767587 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 248 pages

From Booklist
Some art history scholars regard George Stubbs as possibly the best painter of horses ever. The 200 images in this volume, the catalog to a current exhibition (now in Fort Worth; in Baltimore to mid-2005) of Stubbs' oeuvre, demonstrate the strength of the assertion. Stubbs flourished from the 1760s to the 1790s primarily on commissions from British landed aristocrats. As Warner and Blake note in their essays, Stubbs gained the nobility's attention with an extraordinary calling card: a set of anatomical drawings that Stubbs based on intense study of equine cadavers. Horses appear strikingly lifelike in his paintings, which, besides their representational quality, embody the beginning of a more humane attitude toward animals. The authors praise Stubbs' individuation of horses, which markedly distinguishes him from painters for whom horses functioned as background scenery or pedestals for generals, not worthwhile subjects in themselves. A worthy tribute to Stubbs' beautifully vibrant work. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
This handsome book celebrates the central subject in the work of George Stubbs-- considered by many to be the greatest painter of horses in the history of art--and offers fresh interpretations of the wide range of equine imagery created by this versatile eighteenth-century artist.

About the Author

Customer Reviews

A BEAUTIFUL VOLUME FOR EQUINE ENTHUSIASTS
Although arguably the greatest painter of horses to date, British artist George Stubbs (1724 - 1806) would never imagine the prices his canvases would some day command. Some 40 years ago the late Paul Mellon added to his collection of Stubbs's work with a check for tens of thousands of dollars, today anyone lucky enough to come across an available Stubbs had better have a million to spare. London's National Gallery paid 11 million pounds for a life-sized painting of the thoroughbred "Whistlejacket," a monumental work breathtaking in majesty and beauty.

Those fortunate enough to visit the Fort Worth's Kimbell Art Museum though early February of this year will be able to see not only this incredible piece but the finest works of Stubbs in the first major collection to fully capture his genius as a painter of horses.

Almost as good as being at the Kimbell is leafing through "Stubbs & The Horse," an exquisite 256 page volume holding 200 illustrations. Authors Malcolm Warner and Robin Blake present a comprehensive portrait of Stubbs, as Warner discusses the low regard in which the British held horses in Stubbs's time, the surprising connection the artist's horse-and-lion compositions, and the evolution of the English thoroughbred. Offering a different perspective Blake tells us of the Whig nobles who were Stubbs's initial patrons and offers insights into the inclusion of the grooms, jockeys, trainers and other figures in the artist's paintings.

As Warner notes in his Preface, "The horse was at once the mainstay of Stubbs's success and a problem for his reputation. In his lifetime he attracted much praise for his abilities as a painter of horses.......But this won him little prestige in his profession." In fact. During Stubbs's time British artistic tastes ran to paintings of historical events, myths, the Bible, and allegory. A painter of horses was rather low in popular opinion.

Nonetheless, Stubbs persisted in his study of equine anatomy eventually rendering remarkable ink drawings which presaged his later paintings. He would later take these anatomical drawings to London where they were well received, and resulted in several commissions. Eventually he acquired an enviable reputation as an equestrian painter and earned a comfortable living from equine enthusiasts.

Stubbs lived to the age of 81, and died in 1806. Throughout his life many considered his incredibly beautiful lifelike work to be second class. History has deemed it quite differently.

- Gail Cooke

Awesome!
This book is outstanding. The plates are all in color and large enough to see easily. Stubbs anatomical drawings are very detailed. I had been having trouble understanding how horses moved before I saw those drawings. Seeing the skeleton and muscles helped considerably. When I took it to class and showed my professor, she got online and bought one for herself. She draws/paints horses beautifully and owns horses herself.

Reading the background information about George Stubbs and the symbolism used in his paintings was very interesting and educational.

Stubbs & the Horse
Excellent purchase. I saw this book in the National Gallery, London having just viewed Whistle Jacket. I wanted it because my own passion lies in painting Horses. The book is full of fascinating information on Stubbs himself, his love of horses and has his excellent illustrations / studies of equine anatomy. A useful and beautiful book filled with his striking paintings.