English school of the mid-twentieth century.

English school of the mid-twentieth century.
After ALFRED MUNNINGS (England, 1878-1959).
"After the Race".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 48 x 63 cm; 59 x 74 cm (frame).

The painting follows models by the British painter Alfred Munnings, known for his equestrian artwork. The painting depicts a pair of racehorses being checked at the end of a race. It is an evocative depiction of horse racing in England before World War II. The original work was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1937 and is currently housed at the Southampton City Art Gallery.

Sir Alfred James Munnings is known to have been one of England's finest horse painters and an outspoken critic of modernism. Hired by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorial Fund after the Great War, he obtained several prestigious commissions that made him wealthy. Between 1912 and 1914 he was a member of the Newlyn School of artists. His work was part of the Olympic art competitions held in 1928, 1932 and 1948. Munnings was president of the Royal Academy of Arts from 1944 to 1949, when he was succeeded by Sir Gerald Kelly.