Collectors of British sporting art have a unique chance to purchase George Stubbs's masterpiece, Brood Mares and Foals, which is to be sold for the first time since it was created in 1767.
The painting, considered the noblest of the ‘Mares and Foals' series, was produced at a time when the role of the horse was reaching new heights through the development of racing and Thoroughbred breeding; it is thought to have been commissioned by Col George Lane Parker, second son of the 2nd Earl of Macclesfield of Shirburn Castle, Oxfordshire, and one of Stubbs's most important patrons.
The work passed to the 3rd Earl, whose descendant now offers it for sale by Sotheby's on December 8 with an estimate of £10 million-£15 million. ‘George Stubbs is, in my opinion, the greatest horse painter ever,' says Sotheby's head of British pictures, Emmeline Hallmark. ‘This example is not only in superb condition, but also has the most impeccable provenance.
It is quite simply perfection.' Stubbs's auction record is the £3,191,500 paid in 1995 for Portrait of the Royal Tiger; in 1976, Mares and Foals in a Hilly Landscape made £170,000.
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Country Life's Quiz of the Day, 7 February 2025: 10 head-scratchers to take you into the weekendGuess the house price, remember the stuff you learned at school and take wild stabs in the dark. You'll love it.
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Seven of the UKs best Art Deco cinemas that help remind us of what we have (wrongly) long stopped expecting from public buildingsFrom the birthplace of modern cinema, to the home of the largest Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ in Europe, the UK’s remaining Art Deco cinemas are flourishing. Here are seven of the best.
