WHAT? Stubbs: Portrait of a Horse

WHERE? The National Gallery, The H J Hyams Room (Room 1), Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

WHEN? Now until 31st May. Free to view

WHY GO? For art/horse divas! The most famous painting of a horse is undoubtedly Whistlejacket, the Stubbs masterpiece which hangs majestically in Room 34 of the National Gallery.

Now there’s a life-size partner to admire called Scrub; both were commissioned by the same owner, the Marquess of Rockingham during the same year, 1762. Now Scrub is also on display, on loan from a private collection, for all to admire. Who owns this beauty? It would be interesting to know.

Both were unusual at the time, painted solo without riders.

Splendidly equine, the horsey set will relish this rare opportunity to see Scrub along with Stubbs's studies for The Anatomy of the Horse (1766), generally recognised as the definitive accurate representation of a horse's anatomy to date.

Naturally the greatest artist associated with horses is also associated with racing. In 1790, Stubbs was commissioned anonymously to portray the most famous race horses in Britain chronicling 50 years of racing history, but like lots of glorious ideas, it was abandoned mid-way due to lack of funding. Thankfully 19 paintings were completed, two of which are also on show in the exhibition.

IN THE KNOW Quirky fact! A horse lover is called a ‘hippophile’, derived from the Greek roots hippo meaning horse and ‘one who loves’. Early patrons of Stubbs’s work were the influential gentlemen who founded the Jockey Club in 1750, who still retains some of his work.