A personal enthusiasm for horse racing and fox hunting is what first stirred the interest of Paul Mellon '29 in the art of Britain, where those sports have inspired artists for centuries. Images of racing and hunting are among the subjects featured in an exhibit opening at the Yale Center for British Art on Saturday, July 20, that concentrates on the interests and collecting activity of Mr. Mellon, the center's benefactor.
The exhibit features recent gifts to the center by Mr. Mellon and is installed in the Founder's Room, which will be open to the public for the first time this summer. The room, generally reserved for private functions at the museum, commemorates Mr. Mellon's generosity to the center.
Among the items that will be on display are two paintings by Sir John Lavery, 1856-1941, an Anglo-Irish artist, who painted both sporting scenes and landscapes. One of these works portrays horses exercising on the slopes rising above Newmarket; the other captures the start of a horse race at the famous Newmarket track. Also on view are four works by 20th-century sporting artist Sir Alfred Munnings, 1878-1959, known as "the Sargent of Horses." He was particularly interested in the start of races at Newmarket, a subject captured in three of his works that are on view. Also on display is his work "The Point to Point Meeting," which is being shown with Ben Marshall's "George, Fifth Duke of Gordon on 'Tiny,'" painted 140 years earlier, to demonstrate to viewers how little the dress and attitude of riders have changed over the years.
English life and culture are depicted in two paintings of Oxford and Cambridge by topographical artist Thomas Malton, the Younger, 1748-1804, and in sporting paintings by John Fernley and James Ward. A group of small sculptures by John Skeaping, 1901-1980, will also be on display, as will some of Mr. Mellon's earlier gifts to the center.
The Founder's Room will be open on weekends only through Sept. 1, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. on Sundays. Other exhibitions at the Yale Center for British Art, located at 1080 Chapel St., are open to the public during the center's regular hours, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.