Kimbell acquires British masterpiece from ‘one of the greatest artists’ of 18th century
The Kimbell Art Museum has acquired George Stubbs’ “Mares and Foals Belonging to the Second Viscount Bolingbroke,” one of the 18th-century British artist’s most detailed and visceral paintings, the museum announced Friday.
The painting, circa 1761-62, was purchased from a private collection through the London-based dealer Simon Dickinson. The price was not disclosed. The museum acquired it in honor of the late Ben J. Fortson, who died in May. He spent most of his adult life helping to build and create the Kimbell with his wife of 67 years, Kay.
“Stubbs’ work transcends the subject matter. He is one of the greatest artists of his century,” said museum director Eric Lee.
Few would disagree. Stubbs, whose 300th birthday is this year, was regarded as the grand master painter of people and animals at the time. Because he was obsessed with horses, however, he was sought by wealthy equine lovers because of his meticulous attention to detail and reverence for animals.
His lifelong love of anatomy and horses merged in 1756 when he spent 18 months in rural England dissecting horse carcasses to understand their bodies. The result was the informative “The Anatomy of the Horse,” a heralded book of sketches and commentaries. It’s an insight into how the artist thought about painting, animals and is a launching point to the rest of his career.
“Mares and Foals Belonging to the Second Viscount Bolingbroke” is the second Stubbs in the collection. The Kimbell Art Foundation, the stewards of the museum, acquired “Lord Grosvenor’s Arabian Stallion with a Groom,” circa 1765, in 1981.
Both share the foundation of Stubbs’s paintings. They are detailed, energetic, emotional and, like the best of portraits, portray figures in a flattering light and regal clothing. And like the best of portraits, they also tell the figure’s story. That he applied the best elements of portraiture to horses is no surprise. They were commissions, which made him money. But that someone could get the anatomy and psychology of a horse is rare. It’s also visited the museum before as part of the touring exhibition Stubbs and the Horse in 2005.
But Second Viscount’s six horses here would win the artistic race against Grosvenor’s stallion, and maybe even the countless others he painted.
“It’s the most powerful of the whole series because of the psychology,” Lee said of his other paintings in the series of mares and foals. “And it is arguably the best in the U.S.”
Unlike his renowned Whistlejacket, circa 1762, a giant of a piece depicting a triumphant rearing horse against a blank background, the six horses are set against a background of what is likely the family estate. To paint the tale of parenthood, Stubbs painted each individually and brought them together in the work against a real background.
Against the fresh grass and dark gray river are the three mare and three foals. Central to the painting is an older mare with a shiny dark brown coat and noble appearance. Around her are two other mares with their foals snuggling up to them. A tree above them bristles in the wind. Are they scared by the gray sky behind them, likely indicating a storm? Or are they, like humans, simply showing their children they love them?
In an area filled with people who understand and work with horses, Lee speculated the painting is likely to be a big hit in Fort Worth.
It is now prominently on display in the Kahn building.
