Munnings, Sir Alfred

Munnings, Sir Alfred (b Mendham, Suffolk, 8 Oct. 1878; d Dedham, Essex, 17 July 1959). English painter, a specialist in scenes involving horses, which he loved passionately. He was at the height of his popularity in the inter-war years, when he cut a figure in fashionable society and was often invited to the grandest country houses to paint the owners with their horses (he was also besieged with commissions when he visited the USA in 1924). From 1944 to 1949 he was president of the Royal Academy (he beat Augustus John in the election by 24 votes to 11). He had no interest in administration or the Academy's finances and his presidency was remarkable mainly for a splenetic speech attacking modern art that he delivered at the RA annual dinner in 1949. It was broadcast live on radio and was a national talking point the next day. His successor as PRA, Sir Gerald Kelly, did much to restore the damage done to the Academy's prestige. Munnings was an artist of considerable natural ability, but he became rather slick and repetitive and his continued popularity is more with lovers of horses and the countryside than with lovers of painting. His work can best be seen at Castle House, Dedham, Essex, his home from 1919, which his widow converted into a Munnings Museum.