The Stallion, Gillibrand

Artist Charles Towne (English, 1763 - 1840)

Date1817

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 32 × 42 1/4 inches (81.28 × 107.32 cm)
Framed: 39 3/4 × 49 7/8 × 3 3/4 inches (100.97 × 126.68 × 9.53 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Jeanne McCray Beals in memory of David Thomas Beals II, Helen Ward Beals, and David Thomas Beals III

Object number2006.9.37

Signedl.l.corner (in dark brown paint): "C Towne, pinxit, 1817"

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

European Art

Terms

DescriptionA gray horse standing with a cliff and tree to the right, a river to the left, and mountains beyond.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

None.

Gallery Label

Horses contributed significantly to Britain’s rich history and culture. They played an important role in hunting and the sport of organized horse racing. Either arena could have been where this gray stallion frolicked.

Charles Towne obtained great celebrity with his portraits of working animals. Painted with diligent and affectionate care, this portrait suggests the animal’s importance to its owner. The stallion’s name, Gillibrand, could connect it to a Mr. Gillibrand who was a registered breeder of racehorses in Cheshire, near Liverpool.

Provenance

Possibly Thomas Gillibrand (1780-1828), Gillibrand Hall, Chorley, England, 1817 [1];

David T. Beals, III (d. 1987), Mission Hills, KS, by 1987;

Inherited by his wife, Jeanne McCray Beals (1933-2005), Fairway, KS, 1987-2005;

Her bequest to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2006.

NOTES:

[1] Thomas Gillibrand appears as an owner in several horse-related publications from the period.

Published References

None.

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