Dublin

Dublin, a bay hunter, was given to Paul Mellon by his mother. He describes him in his autobiography as, 'a big Irish hunter' and goes on to say, 'Dublin remains my favourite among the many hunters I have owned. He pulled a bit and was as strong as a locomotive, but although a so-called three-quarter-bred, he had enough foot and staying power not to disgrace me in several point-to-points. He could have jumped the Eiffel Tower. I think it was Dublin more than anything else who assured my lifelong addiction to hunting. He had huge quarters and a wonderful long front, and his eye had the "look of eagles"' (P. Mellon, Reflections in a Silver Spoon, 1992, p. 228). In the same year that Voss, a friend of Paul Mellon, painted this portrait of Dublin, Mellon commissioned Munnings to paint his portrait on the hunter (Yale Center for British Art).