This exhibition features recently acquired works from across the gallery's Sporting, Wildlife and Maritime specialisms.
Maritime highlights include a painting of The Battle of Tobago Bay in 1677 by Dutch artist Jan Karel Donatus Van Beecq (1638-1722), thought to be among the earliest depictions of the island. Also of historical and topographical significance, is a naval engagement by prominent painter of the Napoleonic period Thomas Whitcombe (1752-1824), which documents the British raid on Saint Paul, Reunion, in the Indian Ocean in 1809.
The equestrian section is led by a major commission Sir Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959) completed for Baron Mildmay of Flete, capturing his son on the horse Davy Jones before the 1936 Grand National. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1938 and is reappearing on the market for the first time since 1999. Other sporting subjects include an intriguing painting by John Frederick Herring Snr. (1795-1865) of sportsman and eccentric George Osbaldeston driving the American trotter Rattler, and a canvas by Susan Crawford (B. 1941) of 1986 horse of the year Dancing Brave with jockey Pat Eddery up.
Forming part of the ornithological works on offer is a beautifully observed eagle nest by Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) and a delicate study of an Ibis by Ray Harris Ching (B. 1939).
Maritime highlights include a painting of The Battle of Tobago Bay in 1677 by Dutch artist Jan Karel Donatus Van Beecq (1638-1722), thought to be among the earliest depictions of the island. Also of historical and topographical significance, is a naval engagement by prominent painter of the Napoleonic period Thomas Whitcombe (1752-1824), which documents the British raid on Saint Paul, Reunion, in the Indian Ocean in 1809.
The equestrian section is led by a major commission Sir Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959) completed for Baron Mildmay of Flete, capturing his son on the horse Davy Jones before the 1936 Grand National. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1938 and is reappearing on the market for the first time since 1999. Other sporting subjects include an intriguing painting by John Frederick Herring Snr. (1795-1865) of sportsman and eccentric George Osbaldeston driving the American trotter Rattler, and a canvas by Susan Crawford (B. 1941) of 1986 horse of the year Dancing Brave with jockey Pat Eddery up.
Forming part of the ornithological works on offer is a beautifully observed eagle nest by Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) and a delicate study of an Ibis by Ray Harris Ching (B. 1939).