RICHMOND, VA.- The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts presents "Sporting Art in the 20th Century", which presents paintings by Sir Alfred Munnings (English, 1875-1959) and sculpture and watercolors by John R. Skeaping (English, 1901-1980). Although photography to a certain extent replaced the traditional concerns of sporting art, sporting art continued to prosper in the 20th century. Munnings and Skeaping stand out among 20th-century sporting artists. They are somewhat opposed in their artistic influences.

Munnings – who was president of the Royal Academy – virulently opposed Modernism, especially Picasso, and continued to paint racing subjects in an elegiac late-Impressionist style.

Skeaping, on the other hand, was more open to Modernist influences: certain of his sculptures and watercolors recall Cubism. Both artists, however, successfully used art to convey the passion and excitement of sport in a manner that at its best still seems strikingly fresh and contemporary, according to Dr. Mitchell Merling Paul Mellon Curator and head of the department of European art at VMFA.

"This installation of masterpieces from the 20th century demonstrates VMFA's continuing interest in sporting art and in the legacy of our benefactor, Paul Mellon, who gave so much to the museum both as a trustee and a donor," Merling says.