Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (British, 1878-1959)

Anarchist

Details

Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (British, 1878-1959)
Anarchist
oil on canvas
14 x 18 in. (35.5 x 45.7 cm.)
Painted in 1943.

A photograph of this painting is included in this lot. It is signed and inscribed by Sir Alfred Munnings 'My favourite Anarchist in 1943' (on the reverse), and later signed and inscribed by Violet, Lady Munnings 'The painting of which/this is a photograph is the original/work of my husband Sir Alfred Munnings PRA/entitled Anarchist/Violet Munnings/1963' (on the reverse)

Provenance

The artist, 1956.
with Frost & Reed, London.
Mrs K. Du Cane by 1983.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, Diploma Gallery, Exhibition of Works by Sir Alfred J. Munnings, KCVO, PRA, March-June 1956, no. 269 (lent by the artist).
Probably, Wolverhampton, Exhibition of Paintings by Sir Alfred Munnings, July-August, 1956, no. 163 (as Portrait of My Favourite 'Anarchist').

Lot Essay

Munnings describes Anarchist as, ' ... the best I ever rode - a bold, clever unassuming and well-mannered horse, with a calm outlook on life. All jumps came alike to him and he never gave me a fall. Bred in Normandy by a Saumur instructor, he was jumping more than six feet in French competitions as a four year old' (Sir A.J. Munnings, An Artists Life, Bungay, 1950, p. 13). Later, when Munnings came to write the third volume of his autobiography, although still in admiration of his favorite horse, describing Anarchist as 'the most perfect model. A regular 16.2 'chaser', (Sir A.J. Munnings, The Finish, Bungay, 1952, p. 73), he does also admit that Anarchist not only threw Munnings off his back breaking two ribs but then stepped on Munnings's ankle.

This work will be included in Lorian Peralta-Ramos's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the works by Sir Alfred Munnings.

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