LONDON.- A monumental painting of a rearing horse will go on display next spring, in a new National Gallery exhibition devoted to George Stubbs (1724–1806).

The only life-size horse portrait by Stubbs still in a private collection, and only once before seen on public display, Scrub, a bay horse belonging to the Marquess of Rockingham (about 1762) will be joined in the exhibition by other paintings and works on paper by Stubbs.

Visitors will also be able to draw comparisons with the artist’s masterpiece Whistlejacket (about 1762), in the National Gallery’s collection, which will be on display nearby in Room 34. The two equine portraits were painted in the same year for the Marquess of Rockingham (1730–82), who owned both of these former racehorses. He would subsequently decide not to purchase the painting of Scrub.

These two paintings are the first large as life portraits of horses depicted without a rider in British art and show how in the second half of the 18th-century Stubbs would change equine painting for future generations through his keen observation and anatomical studies. The exhibition will focus on the creation of Scrub, and will contextualise the commission through two significant projects undertaken by the artist where the horse is the subject.

The first would see him establish his career as an animal painter, shortly before Scrub was made.

Between 1756–58, Stubbs spent 18 months studying and drawing the anatomy of horses in a remote barn in Horkstow, Lincolnshire where he would carry out meticulous dissections. He carefully removed layers of skin and muscle, recording minute detail as he went. The most thorough study undertaken on the anatomy of horses for almost a hundred years, it resulted in the most detailed images of the subject ever recorded in Britain.

The second project introduced in the exhibition, The Turf Review, came towards the end of the artist’s career, and reflects how closely Stubbs had become associated with paintings of racehorses. In 1790, Stubbs was approached by an anonymous patron to create a series of portraits of racehorses depicting the last 50 years of the Turf. Many would be copies of his earlier work, while others would be new creations.

As a result of his endeavours, Stubbs’s pictures of horses are among the most accurate ever painted but he took artistic license in his finished paintings to reflect the character of the individual horses and create impactful final works which transcend pure naturalism. Stubbs would achieve great renown and build a successful career through his depictions of horses and other animals.

Mary McMahon, Associate Curator (NG200 Collections), says ’Stubbs fundamentally changed the approach to depicting the horse in late 18th-century British art, combining his hard-earned knowledge and understanding of their anatomy with a desire to capture a distinct individual character.’

George Stubbs is best remembered for his paintings of horses and his conversation pieces. Having studied anatomy, Stubbs's pictures of horses are among the most accurate ever painted, but his work is lyrical and transcends naturalism.

Stubbs was born in Liverpool, the son of a currier (leather worker), and he spent his early career in the north of England, painting portraits and developing his interest in anatomy. In the later 1740s he lived in York and supplied the illustrations for a treatise on midwifery. Following a brief visit to Rome in 1754 he had returned to England by the following year. From 1756-8 he settled in Lincolnshire, where he dissected horses and made drawings that would later be published in his major treatise, 'The Anatomy of the Horse' (1766). By 1759 he had moved to London, which remained his base for the rest of his life.

Early clients for his sporting and racing paintings included many of the noblemen who founded the Jockey Club. Like Gainsborough, he later painted scenes of peasant life, as well as studies of wild and exotic animals. He also became known as a printmaker and for his paintings in enamel on Wedgwood earthenware plaques.