george stubbs whistlejacket
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:09:11 -0400
At this point he was bought by the Marquess of Rockingham and went on to win a £100 Free Plate at York. In 1758 he won a race, for 200 guineas at Newmarket and his last race was in 1759 where he won his most valuable prize of 2,000 guineas. At this point, he retired to stud.
It is interesting to remember that these race meetings were many miles apart and that prior to the event the horse would have to travel there under his own steam.
Stubbs's Portrait of Whistlejacket
Stubbs made his painting at Rockingham's stables. Whistlejacket was a temperamental horse and his groom Simon Cobb was with him throughout. At one point, Whistlejacket is said to have attacked Stubbs and he had to fend him off with a stick.
Speculation surrounds the painting. Until this time, no work of this size had been painted of a solitary horse. The pose was also unusual. It was believed that the original intention was to paint a portrait of King George III and Stubbs, as a horse painter, was called in to do the first part. The next stage would have been to appoint a portrait painter to add the king followed by a landscape painter who would have completed the background. In the event, none of this happened and it is suggested that Rockingham fell out with the king and changed his mind.
Another interesting theory is that when Stubbs had finished his part of the work, Simon Cobb the groom who periodically led Whistlejacket around to keep him calm, showed him his portrait. Being life size and so lifelike, Whistlejacket mistook his likeness for another stallion and promptly tried to attack it. The idea appealed to Rockingham and so he decided to leave the work as it was.
Stubbs went to live in London where he was in constant demand to paint other horses, stables and also historical scenes. Among his patrons was the Prince of Wales. He died in 1806, leaving one son, George Townley Stubbs.
Rockingham died in 1782 leaving no heir. His huge estate passed to a nephew, the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam.
Whistlejacket sired several colts but none of them made a particular name for themselves in horseracing history. And his name? It came from a currently popular cough cure made from gin and treacle!
Sources:
Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Whistlejacket
Oxford DNB - George Stubbs, Charles Watson Wentworth
Whistlejacket 1762: George Stubbs
Large 40″ x 30″ Incredibly Faithful Reproduction by Sally Stone, noted Equestrian Artist, Offered for sale @$2500
Whistlejacket was foaled in 1749. His most famous victory was in a race over four miles for 2000 guineas at York in August 1759.
George Stubbs’s huge picture of Whistlejacket was painted in about 1762 for the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham,
Whistlejacket ’s owner and a great patron of Stubbs.
Whistlejacket 1762: George Stubbs
According to some writers of the period the original intention was to commission
an equestrian portrait of George III, but it is more likely that Stubbs always intended to show Whistlejacket alone rearing up against a neutral background,nothing in the painting indicates that it is not complete, and the detail of the shadows cast by Whistlejacket ’s rear legs on the ground suggest that this is how Stubbs intended the picture to be seen; the absence of background details intensifies the sense of power that Whistlejacket projects as it rears and twists its head. It is my personal favorite “Equestrian painting” because its simplicity and lack of confusing elements allows the true beauty of the thoroughbred to stand out proudly.
The original Whistlejacket hangs in England’s National Gallery
Once again, I must reiterate, this is not the original Whistlejacket, unlike 99% of the online galleries we only show the actual work that is available, it’s not a picture of the original and then you receive something entirely different when it finally arrives, this is the painting for sale. Please contact us directly by Email if you would like to discuss details of the purchase of this painting or if you would just like to go ahead use the Buy Now Button.
