George Stubbs

George Stubbs was an English artist specialising in animal paintings - particularly horses. He became renowned for his realistic depictions of horses, often shown without riders and placed in a variety of settings.

Born in Liverpool, Stubbs settled in London in around 1758 and produced his definitive work on horses ''The Anatomy of the Horse'. In addition to researching the drawings, which involved months of dissection and drawing, Stubbs also engraved many of the plates himself.

Stubbs was fascinated with all anatomy including human and equine and also painted a range of domestic animals such as dogs and cows. He was also interested in exotic animals and featured lions in his works. He painted cheetahs, apes, zebras and rhinos but would become renown in the 20th century for depicting the first Australian native animals in western art. Although he did not travel to Australia, Stubbs drew the kangaroo and dingo based on pelts bought home to Britain by Sir Joseph Banks from Cook’s ENDEAVOUR voyage. The paintings themselves hung in Bank's London home and the engraving of the kangaroo was used to illustrate John Hawkesworth's book published in 1773.

Although renowned for his horse paintings, Stubbs was also an exceptional drawer and his anatomical sketches show a scientific precision and innate understanding of the living form.