George Stubbs

George Stubbs 1724-1806, English painter known for his studies of horses. Self-taught, Stubbs was interested in comparative anatomy and published his Anatomy of the Horse (1766), which is still admired for its accuracy and elegance. It gained him a first-rate career as a painter to the English gentry, specializing in horse portraits, family groups with carriages, and portraits of other domestic animals such as cattle and dogs. His Phaeton and Pair (National Gall., London) is well known. He also painted rural scenes. Stubbs was a skilled engraver and made many sporting prints.

Bibliography: See studies by B. Taylor (1971), T. Doherty (1974), J. Egerton (1976), C.-A. Parker (1971 and 1984), R. Vincent-Kemp (1986), C. Lennox-Boyd (1989), V. Morrison (1989), M. Myrone (2002), and M. Warner and R. Blake (2004).

Stubbs, George (1724–1806). English anatomist and animal painter, especially of horses, Stubbs's work captures the English gentleman's enjoyment of rural life, at its peak in the prosperity of the mid‐18th cent. Stubbs's paintings of racehorses, often with owner or groom, were particularly popular both in original form and as prints. His anatomical skills ensured that the power and beauty of animals was captured without sentimentality.