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| George Stubbs, Self-portrait Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
There is a proverb: a horse is an angel without wings. Few sayings capture so beautifully the power, elegance, and nobility of this creature. If a single animal were to be chosen for its service to humankind, it would undoubtedly be the horse.
From tilling fields to carrying riders into battle, from pulling carts to racing across the turf, horses have been mankind’s companions, protectors, and symbols of status.
George Stubbs (1724–1806), the English painter often called the “painter of animals,” transformed the horse from a functional beast into a subject worthy of high art.
His paintings embody both beauty and anatomical truth. Through Stubbs, the horse became not just a vehicle of war or sport but a central protagonist in the story of British art.
The Artist: George Stubbs and his pursuit of knowledge
Stubbs was born in Liverpool in 1724, the son of a currier and leatherworker. His career was unconventional; rather than following the Royal Academy route of Italian training and academic copying, he studied nature directly.
His defining achievement was the anatomical research he undertook in the 1750s, meticulously dissecting horses to understand their skeletons, muscles, and ligaments. The fruit of this research was his book The Anatomy of the Horse (1766), a set of engraved plates that became essential for both artists and veterinary surgeons.
What made Stubbs extraordinary was his ability to merge science and art. He was not content to paint the horse as a mere ornament in a grand portrait; instead, he elevated it to subject, granting it dignity, energy, and individuality equal to human sitters. His contemporaries, including Reynolds and Gainsborough, admired him; today he stands beside them as one of the great painters of the eighteenth century.
Five masterpieces of the horse
Stubbs painted dozens of equine portraits, but five stand out as definitive examples of his genius.
Whistlejacket George Stubbs,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
1. Whistlejacket (c. 1762)
Among the many celebrated canvases of George Stubbs, none has achieved the legendary status of Whistlejacket.
Painted around 1762, this nearly life-size portrait of the Marquess of Rockingham’s prized racehorse is a declaration of Stubbs’s genius. At over nine feet high, the horse dominates the canvas, rearing with astonishing vitality.
What strikes the viewer immediately is not only the sheer scale but also the daring simplicity: the animal stands isolated against a plain, golden background, devoid of rider, landscape, or architectural setting.
This radical choice was unprecedented. In eighteenth-century Britain, horses were usually depicted as part of larger narratives — racing on tracks, standing beside aristocratic owners, or set against rolling estates that symbolized wealth and land. Stubbs broke from convention, elevating the horse to the central and only protagonist, as monumental as any king or noble. In this, he equated the horse with a royal sitter, granting it dignity and sovereignty in its own right.
The anatomical accuracy is dazzling. Stubbs’s years of dissection and study allowed him to render every vein, muscle, and tendon with scientific precision. The curve of the horse’s neck, the strain in its legs, and the tautness of its body convey both tension and grace. The sheen of the chestnut coat glows against the neutral background, making the horse appear almost sculptural. Viewers often remark that the painting seems alive — as if Whistlejacket might leap from the canvas at any moment.
Beyond its realism, Whistlejacket is symbolic. The painting embodies the spirit of freedom, nobility, and natural power. By stripping away context, Stubbs invites the audience to contemplate the horse as a universal emblem of beauty and strength. Today, the work continues to enthrall visitors, standing not only as a portrait of one thoroughbred but also as an enduring image of equine spirit.
2. Horse Attacked by a Lion (1760s–70s)
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| A Lion Attacking a Horse George Stubbs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
His series of Horse Attacked by a Lion paintings, created during the 1760s and 1770s, exemplifies this departure into the sublime.
These works show the sudden, violent encounter between prey and predator: a lion leaping onto the back of a startled horse, claws and teeth sinking into its flesh.
The compositions pulse with energy and fear. The horses are depicted in desperate contortions — rearing, twisting, eyes wide with terror, nostrils flaring as they attempt to escape their attacker. The lions, muscular and relentless, embody raw instinct. In these canvases, Stubbs demonstrates his mastery of anatomy not only in static elegance but in extreme action, pushing the limits of musculature and motion.
These paintings also engage with the Romantic fascination for the sublime — that blend of awe and terror found in depictions of storms, ruins, or wild beasts. By placing the refined thoroughbred, symbol of aristocratic pride, in mortal combat with a lion, Stubbs introduces themes of vulnerability, mortality, and the fragile balance of life. The works resonate with viewers because they combine the familiar with the primal: the cherished horse, celebrated in stables and racetracks, shown in a desperate fight for survival.
Unlike Whistlejacket’s calm heroism, the Horse Attacked by a Lion canvases pulse with emotional intensity. They reveal Stubbs not just as a portraitist of horses but as an artist capable of capturing the extremes of fear, movement, and drama — qualities that link him to broader European currents in Romantic art.
3. Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath (c. 1765)
If the lion paintings dramatize terror, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath celebrates triumph. Gimcrack was one of the most famous racehorses of the eighteenth century, admired for his stamina and success on the turf. Stubbs’s painting presents the thoroughbred alongside his jockey, John Pratt, and a groom, in the open expanse of Newmarket Heath, the center of British racing.
This work reflects Stubbs’s role as the official chronicler of Britain’s racing culture. The composition carefully balances horse, rider, and landscape: the horse stands confidently in the middle ground, the jockey in racing silks perched lightly, and the flat heath stretching into the distance. The positioning allows the viewer to appreciate the horse’s conformation while also situating him within his environment.
For patrons, such paintings were more than decorative. They were trophies in oil, testaments to wealth and success, much like silver racing cups displayed in grand houses. To own a Stubbs portrait of a winning horse was to proclaim one’s status in both sporting and social terms. The painting of Gimcrack thus served as a permanent record of achievement, immortalizing not only the horse but the culture of racing itself.
At the same time, the painting remains formally elegant. Stubbs does not overload the scene with extraneous detail. Instead, he conveys sporting pride with restraint, allowing the horse’s physical presence to dominate. The result is a balanced composition that bridges realism, celebration, and quiet dignity.
4. Bay Malton with John Singleton up (c. 1767)
Stubbs’s reputation as the painter of racehorses is further cemented in Bay Malton with John Singleton up. Bay Malton was another celebrated thoroughbred, and Stubbs captures both the animal’s taut, muscular posture and the confident poise of jockey John Singleton. Together they embody the synergy between man and horse that defines equestrian sport.
The painting is not simply about anatomy; it is also about social fabric. In eighteenth-century Britain, racing was deeply tied to aristocratic identity and prestige. Patrons commissioned portraits of their horses to showcase breeding programs, victories, and the refinement of their stables. By immortalizing Bay Malton, Stubbs was also immortalizing the culture of his patrons, turning sport into art and legacy.
The horse’s posture conveys readiness and alertness, muscles coiled with potential energy. Singleton sits upright and composed, a symbol of human mastery and partnership. Behind them, the setting is understated, ensuring that attention remains fixed on the central duo. Through this balance, Stubbs communicates both the individuality of Bay Malton and the symbolic union of strength and control that horse and rider represent.
Such works remind us that racing portraits were not merely about animals but about human aspiration, aristocratic power, and the celebration of disciplined speed.
5. Mares and Foals in a Landscape (1760s)
Not all of Stubbs’s equine paintings celebrate the racecourse. In pastoral works such as Mares and Foals in a River Landscape, he reveals a gentler, more poetic side of his art. These compositions feature groups of mares standing or reclining with their foals, often set against soft, rolling scenery or beside a stream.
Here the focus shifts from competition to kinship. The tender relationship between mother and offspring is rendered with care: the protective nudge of a mare’s head, the unsteady stance of a foal, the quiet companionship of animals grazing together. Stubbs’s meticulous anatomy remains, but it is softened by sentiment and by an atmosphere of pastoral calm.
Such scenes connect with long traditions in art, where animals are shown not only as symbols of power but also as emblems of fertility, nurture, and the cycles of nature. The foals suggest innocence and renewal, while the mares convey continuity and guardianship. In portraying them, Stubbs demonstrates his versatility: he could capture the thrill of a racehorse in motion or the stillness of a domestic group at rest.
These pastoral pictures appealed to patrons who wished to see not just their prized stallions immortalized but also the broader rhythm of life in the countryside. They remind us that Stubbs was not confined to heroic equine portraits but was equally capable of evoking the poetry of rural existence.
Together, these five paintings illustrate the full range of Stubbs’s genius. Whistlejacket shows monumental isolation and nobility. Horse Attacked by a Lion explores terror and sublime drama. Gimcrack and Bay Malton testify to the culture of racing and the pride of patrons. Mares and Foals offers pastoral tenderness and poetic calm.
Through them all, Stubbs demonstrated that the horse was not just an accessory to human portraiture but a subject worthy of center stage. His ability to combine anatomical accuracy, compositional daring, and symbolic resonance makes these works timeless masterpieces of British art.
Beyond horses: five other Stubbs subjects
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| The Kangaroo (1772) George Stubbs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
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The Kangaroo (1772)—Stubbs produced the first European oil painting of an Australian kangaroo, based on explorers’ descriptions. This pioneering image bridged art and natural history.
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The Dingo (1772) —A companion piece to the kangaroo, the dingo portrait reflects scientific curiosity and the appetite for exotic zoology in eighteenth-century Britain.
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Zebra (1763)—Inspired by royal menageries, Stubbs painted a zebra with as much precision as any thoroughbred, showing his adaptability to unfamiliar subjects.
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Rural scenes such as The Lincolnshire Ox—these works showed cattle, dogs, and rustic life, affirming Stubbs’s breadth beyond the racecourse.
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The Anatomy of the Horse plates—Though technically engravings rather than oil paintings, these studies are as important as any canvas. They underpin his reputation as a scientific artist.
Colour, brushwork, and style
Stubbs’s palette is restrained and naturalistic. He preferred earthy browns, golden ochres, and muted greens, echoing the tones of hides, manes, and landscapes. His brushwork varied from smooth blending on flanks and haunches to livelier strokes in manes and tails.
He often composed his horses as central, isolated figures—Whistlejacket is the best example—stripping away extraneous details to emphasize anatomy. In narrative scenes, such as the lion attacks, he embraced drama, using darker backgrounds and sharper contrasts. This ability to switch between monumental stillness and kinetic action makes his work unique.
Gentlemen's Carriages: A Cabriolet
Yale Center for British Art , Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
Horses as symbols in art
Yale Center for British Art , Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
Throughout history, horses have carried symbolic weight. They stand for power, mobility, and nobility. Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael used horses to embody grandeur in battle or parade.
In prehistoric cave paintings, horses appear among the earliest expressions of human creativity.
In Stubbs’s century, horses symbolized aristocratic identity, wealth, and progress. A racehorse was more than an animal; it was lineage, prestige, and victory incarnate. By painting horses with the care once reserved for kings and saints, Stubbs reinforced their symbolic role in society.
Where to see Stubbs’s works
Stubbs’s paintings today are housed in major museums and collections:
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National Gallery, London—home to Whistlejacket, a highlight of the British collection.
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Tate Britain—with works including Mares and Foals in a River Landscape.
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Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge—where Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath resides.
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Royal Museums, Greenwich—displaying The Kangaroo and The Dingo.
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Yale Center for British Art and other American collections—which preserve examples of his lion-and-horse paintings and rural scenes.
Private collections also hold many racehorse portraits, which sometimes resurface in auction rooms.
The value of Stubbs’s art
Stubbs’s works are highly prized. Museums have raised millions to acquire his most iconic paintings for the nation. Whistlejacket was purchased in the 1990s for a multi-million pound figure, considered one of the most important acquisitions of the decade. The kangaroo and dingo pair were bought after intense public campaigns to keep them in Britain, reflecting their cultural significance.
At auction, Stubbs's paintings have reached seven-figure prices, particularly when provenance links them to aristocratic families. Even his smaller animal portraits, such as dogs, can attract estimates in the hundreds of thousands. Beyond money, however, Stubbs’s paintings carry cultural capital: they are monuments of British sporting, scientific, and artistic history.
Stubbs and the art of drawing horses
The horse has always fascinated artists. From cave walls to Renaissance frescoes, it is a recurring motif. Stubbs’s anatomical studies remind us of the importance of drawing in understanding form.
Pencil drawing, with its emphasis on line and shading, is an essential exercise for any artist. By varying tonal values, one can achieve the illusion of depth and life. Shading is the bridge between imagination and realism. A horse’s head, sketched carefully with attention to nostrils, ears, and the tilt of the neck, can come alive on paper. Just as Stubbs dissected horses to master their structure, students today can study through drawing and shading to grasp their essence.
Conclusion: the horse as eternal companion
From agriculture to battlefields, from mythology to racing tracks, horses have carried humanity forward. In art, they are symbols of strength, grace, and nobility. No artist captured them more memorably than George Stubbs. His mastery lay not only in accuracy but in empathy—in seeing horses as subjects worthy of grandeur.
Whether it is the rearing stallion of Whistlejacket, the terror of a lion attack, the calm beauty of mares and foals, or the exotic novelty of a kangaroo and a dingo, Stubbs gave the eighteenth century—and posterity—a vision of animals that is both scientific and poetic.
For artists and admirers alike, horses remain angels without wings. Stubbs’s canvases prove it beyond doubt.
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