.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
In the early part of his career, Munnings painted many country scenes of horse fairs, some named, as in the present example and some not. Bungay, not many miles from Munnings' birth place of Mendham, held a horse fair up until the 1970s.
In his autobiography, he describes a comparable composition, now in the collection of the Castle Museum, Norwich: 'A Country Fair. Bright sun, tents, crowds, and a black horse hustled by one man and held by another. For this Gray Junior dressed himself in one of those hikey horse dealer's suits which were made for me to my measurements at a particular kind of tailor's in Norwich' (see A.J. Munnings, An Artist's Life, Bungay, 1950, p. 142).
The present watercolour, which was previously in the James C. Hardy collection of works by Munnings, formed part of James Hardy senior's first purchase of 12 paintings by Munnings from a Mr. Holmes in 1925 for 4,000. It seems quite likely that these were the group then exhibited in 1928 at Norwich Castle Museum. Twelve were exhibited in 1928, including Bungay Fair, along with five others, subsequently sold in the James C. Hardy sale at Christie's in November 1989.
In his autobiography, he describes a comparable composition, now in the collection of the Castle Museum, Norwich: 'A Country Fair. Bright sun, tents, crowds, and a black horse hustled by one man and held by another. For this Gray Junior dressed himself in one of those hikey horse dealer's suits which were made for me to my measurements at a particular kind of tailor's in Norwich' (see A.J. Munnings, An Artist's Life, Bungay, 1950, p. 142).
The present watercolour, which was previously in the James C. Hardy collection of works by Munnings, formed part of James Hardy senior's first purchase of 12 paintings by Munnings from a Mr. Holmes in 1925 for 4,000. It seems quite likely that these were the group then exhibited in 1928 at Norwich Castle Museum. Twelve were exhibited in 1928, including Bungay Fair, along with five others, subsequently sold in the James C. Hardy sale at Christie's in November 1989.