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George Stubbs’

Animal

Kingdom

by Erica Lome, Ph.D.

f you were a gentleman of means in 18th century England, you likely owned a portrait by George
Stubbs (1724-1806). Stubbs was one of the most highly-sought-after artists of his generation, yet his
Ilegacy was almost forgotten because his primary subject was animals.
To the modern collector, Stubbs is considered an early and influential member of the Animalier
school, an artistic movement that peaked in the early nineteenth century but had roots in an earlier
era of classical painting and sculpture. There was no formal academy or guild to unify this multi-
generational cohort; Animalières often worked alone or on the margins of their respective artistic circles.
In the minds of his contemporaries, Stubbs was more of a scientific painter than traditional artist,
a designation he contested throughout his career. While he was fascinated by animal anatomy and
studied it extensively, he used his training to create more realistic and nuanced depictions of his
subjects. A survey of his paintings demonstrates his ability to skillfully blend accuracy, color, tone, and
scale into highly sophisticated and dramatic compositions.
During his lifetime, George Stubbs amassed a passionate following among aristocrats, equestrians,
and acquirers of fine and rare creatures; however, the lack of sustained
interest in collecting animal paintings throughout the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries nearly doomed this talented artist to
obscurity. Today, as animal enthusiasts look to the past for
inspiration, a reexamination of George Stubbs should rightly lead
them to appreciate the value of his paintings in a modern context.

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Animalière

George Stubbs was born in Liverpool to a leatherworker,
John Stubbs, and his wife Mary. Stubbs followed his father
George Stubbs, Whistlejacket, into the currier trade until he was sixteen when he abruptly
c.1762, Oil on Canvas, National announced his George Stubbs, 1724–1806, Self-Portrait,
Gallery, London, prehaps Stubbs’ true aspiration to ca. 1759, Oil on copper, Yale Center for British
most famous painting (see full become a painter. Art, Purchased in memory of Paul Mellon on the
painting on page 34) At the time, the only occasion of his centennial, B2006.16
major teacher in
Liverpool was Hamlet
Winstanley, a portrait painter,
engraver, and dealer. Stubbs
briefly studied under
Winstanley, but Stubbs
remained largely self-taught.
As an artist, Stubbs was drawn to animals and particularly horses. Several years after he became a
painter, he left Liverpool to study under the tutelage of Dr. John Burton at York Hospital where he
gained a thorough education in human and equine anatomy. Stubbs then spent eighteen months
researching, dissecting, and drawing horses in preparation for a treatise he one day hoped to publish.
During that time, he purchased horses doomed for the slaughterhouse and sacrificed them himself,
bleeding them dry and then injecting their veins with wax or tallow (the approved method of preserving
human corpses for study). In all, Stubbs went through ten to twelve horses in order to make a proper
study of their form.
At the time, there were few detailed educational resources available on horses. One influential example was
a manual called Méthode et Invention Nouvelle de Dresser les Chevaux (New Method and Extraordinary Invention
to Dress Horses), published by William Cavendish, first Duke of Newcastle, in 1658. This tome contained the
most effective methods of horse training and dressage. Cavendish, who lived in exile before the restoration of King
Charles II, opened a riding school in Belgium while writing this book. It featured illustrations of the Duke’s lavish
estate, stables, and horses, courtesy of Dutch artist Abraham van Diepenbeeck (1598-1675).

32 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles