Posted: March 24th, 2024

George Stubbs

George Stubbs was born in Liverpool on August 25, 1724. He worked for his dad until 16 when his dad passed away. Then he was briefly apprenticed to a painter and a engraver, which is where he began learning about art. Since then, as an artist he was self-taught. In the 1740s he worked as a portrait painter in the North of England. Ever since he was a child he also had an interest in anatomy. He studied human anatomy for six years at York County Hospital. All of these things mentioned helped George Stubbs build up to his highest potential. Later in the 1750s he rented a farmhouse and stayed there for 18 months.

There he spent time dissecting horses to learn all about their bodies. In 1766 he published, The anatomy of the Horse. The original drawings are now in the collection of the Royal Academy. Even before the printing of his book, patrons recognized that his work was better than earlier horse painters. In 1759 the 3rd Duke of Richmond commissioned three large pictures from him, and his career was now secure. He had soon produced art for many more dukes and lords and was able to buy a house in Marylebone, a fancy part of London. His most famous work is the Whistlejacket, a painting of a prancing horse. In the 760s he made a large range of single and group portraits of horses, sometimes with hounds. He often painted horses with their grooms. He also continued to accept commissions for portraits and group portraits of people. George Stubbs also painted more exotic animals, including lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, and rhinoceroses. The last painting George Stubbs was working on was a comparative piece of art. It had the structure of the human body with a tiger, and a common bird. George Stubbs never finished this project. He died on July 10th 1806 in London. Overall, George Stubbs was a great artist and he set the basis for painting animals.

Order | Check Discount