New Record Set For George Stubbs Art

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 9th 2010 at 6:01AM

Another big night for Sotheby's. The Evening Sale of Old Master & British Paintings at Sotheby's in London saw a new auction record set for British artist George Stubbs. His Brood Mares and Foals, a large 39 ¼ by 74 ¼ inch painting sold for £10.1 million ($15.9 million) setting a new record for the artist at auction. The previous record was for his Portrait of The Royal Tiger which sold in 1995 for £3,191,500 ($5,079,579). This was the first time the painting had ever appeared on the open market. It passed from Colonel George Lane Parker (1724-1791) of Woodbury, Cambridgeshire, second son of George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, of Shirburn Castle, Oxfordshire down through the generations to the most recent owner.

The sale brought in a total of £23,577,600 ($37,054,556) setting six new auction record prices for works by: George Stubbs, Luis de Morales, Goswijn Van Der Weyden, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Lorenzo Pasinelli and Emanuel de Witte.

George Stubbs is famous for his horse paintings. The painting shows Stubbs' handiwork with both horses and landscapes. It was likely commissioned by Colonel George Lane Parker. Stubbs produced the distinctive group of compositions of mares and foals exclusively for his most important patrons during the 1760s.

Tags: art, auction, equestrian art, george stubbs, sothebys