The Story Behind Great Paintings: George Stubbs’ Whistlejacket.

Stubbs had no formal training. He taught himself to paint by dissecting horses and studying their anatomy at a Lincolnshire Farmhouse until he understood the animal better than any artist alive.

Whistlejacket was commissioned around 1762 by the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, a politician, gambler and one of the great art collectors of his day. The story goes that Rockingham commissioned the painting as a portrait of King George III. However after a political falling out, the background was left empty.

This was radical for its day but ultimately it is what made Whistlejacket one of the greatest paintings of all time.

Rockingham’s family held onto the painting for 230 years and in 1997 the National Gallery bought it for £11 million.

The Story Behind Great Paintings: George Stubbs’ Whistlejacket.

Stubbs had no formal training. He taught himself to paint by dissecting horses and studying their anatomy at a Lincolnshire Farmhouse until he understood the animal better than any artist alive.

This was radical for its day but ultimately it is what made Whistlejacket one of the greatest paintings of all time.

Rockingham’s family held onto the painting for 230 years and in 1997 the National Gallery bought it for £11 million.