Latest news with #AlfredMunnings
The Guardian
21-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Country diary: A bumper year for orchids – the meadow is brimming with them
Last month, we made a choice on the farm in the midst of the spring drought. The grass was going to seed, risking the quality and amount of hay we could produce. We decided to 'top' the meadows early and hope for rain rather than settling for a poor crop. So far, it's paying off. There has been rain, and the grass, stimulated by mowing, is at last swaying in the breeze. A late hay harvest now looks possible. The drought, paradoxically, has brought a benefit. The grasses, so often dominant, have been suppressed, giving wildflowers a head start. The grazing pastures are no longer monocultures. This year, as horses swish flies, the fields are full of oxeye daisies, creating a landscape as bucolic as an Alfred Munnings painting. Also paying off is my prediction of a bumper orchid year. Wading through the wildflower meadows, I find bee orchid after bee orchid. Each has a pale pink, three-petalled flower with what looks like a fuzzy brown and yellow bee resting on it. If this were southern Europe, a species called the long-horn bee would think this was a female, misled not just by appearance but by the mimicry of pheromones. He'd have a go at mating. Whether the male ever realises he's been tricked into 'pseudo-copulation' with a fake bee I don't know, but either way, he has pollinated the plant. In the UK, the long-horn is so rare that the bee orchids self-pollinate. Then I start finding pyramidal orchids everywhere in the meadow. On top of each long stem is a flower spike, packed full of tiny, delicate individual flowers. Each has that distinctive orchid shape, varying in colour from light pink to strong purple. These ones are such bright magenta they almost glow, and will be pollinated by long-tongued butterflies, and hawk moths, whose proboscis can reach 25mm long. I pick a handful of the sainfoin fronds – loved by horses, naturally anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic – and return to the stables where the leaves are gratefully munched. In the eaves, the baby swallows are also open mouthed, gaping and calling as the parent swoops in with food. I found a chick dead on the ground this morning, but three remain, looking more ready to fledge each day. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
Rhyl Journal
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Race horse sculpture by Sir Alfred Munnings to be sold at auction
The piece, by Sir Alfred Munnings, who is known as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, will go under the hammer at Christie's London on July 2. Racehorse Brown Jack had six consecutive victories at Ascot between 1929 and 1934. The tabletop bronze sculpture was created in an edition of just five, and is currently owned by the Munnings Art Museum in Colchester, Essex, which also owns a second. Scarlett Walsh, sculpture specialist at Christie's London, said: 'Sir Alfred Munnings is rightly celebrated as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, and Brown Jack reveals his extraordinary ability to capture the character and form of the horse in three dimensions. 'Executed with anatomical precision and deep personal affection, the work stands as a powerful tribute to one of the most iconic racehorses in British sporting history. 'Brown Jack offers collectors a rare opportunity to own a work of remarkable artistic and historical significance, also with outstanding provenance. It is a masterpiece of equine portraiture and a lasting testament to the artist's lifelong devotion to the subject he loved most.' The sculpture is estimated to sell for up to £300,000 at the auction, Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture.
Wales Online
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Race horse sculpture by Sir Alfred Munnings to be sold at auction
Race horse sculpture by Sir Alfred Munnings to be sold at auction The piece, by Sir Alfred Munnings, who is known as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, will go under the hammer at Christie's London on July 2 A sculpture of "one of the most celebrated racehorses of the last century" is to be sold at auction. The piece, by Sir Alfred Munnings, who is known as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, will go under the hammer at Christie's London on July 2. Racehorse Brown Jack had six consecutive victories at Ascot between 1929 and 1934. The tabletop bronze sculpture was created in an edition of just five, and is currently owned by the Munnings Art Museum in Colchester, Essex, which also owns a second. Scarlett Walsh, sculpture specialist at Christie's London, said: "Sir Alfred Munnings is rightly celebrated as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, and Brown Jack reveals his extraordinary ability to capture the character and form of the horse in three dimensions. Article continues below "Executed with anatomical precision and deep personal affection, the work stands as a powerful tribute to one of the most iconic racehorses in British sporting history. "Brown Jack offers collectors a rare opportunity to own a work of remarkable artistic and historical significance, also with outstanding provenance. It is a masterpiece of equine portraiture and a lasting testament to the artist's lifelong devotion to the subject he loved most." The sculpture is estimated to sell for up to £300,000 at the auction, Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture.
Glasgow Times
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Race horse sculpture by Sir Alfred Munnings to be sold at auction
The piece, by Sir Alfred Munnings, who is known as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, will go under the hammer at Christie's London on July 2. Racehorse Brown Jack had six consecutive victories at Ascot between 1929 and 1934. The tabletop bronze sculpture was created in an edition of just five, and is currently owned by the Munnings Art Museum in Colchester, Essex, which also owns a second. Brown Jack had six consecutive victories at Ascot between 1929 and 1934 (AV Swaebe/Estate of Sir Alfred Munnings/PA) Scarlett Walsh, sculpture specialist at Christie's London, said: 'Sir Alfred Munnings is rightly celebrated as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, and Brown Jack reveals his extraordinary ability to capture the character and form of the horse in three dimensions. 'Executed with anatomical precision and deep personal affection, the work stands as a powerful tribute to one of the most iconic racehorses in British sporting history. 'Brown Jack offers collectors a rare opportunity to own a work of remarkable artistic and historical significance, also with outstanding provenance. It is a masterpiece of equine portraiture and a lasting testament to the artist's lifelong devotion to the subject he loved most.' The sculpture is estimated to sell for up to £300,000 at the auction, Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture.
South Wales Guardian
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Race horse sculpture by Sir Alfred Munnings to be sold at auction
The piece, by Sir Alfred Munnings, who is known as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, will go under the hammer at Christie's London on July 2. Racehorse Brown Jack had six consecutive victories at Ascot between 1929 and 1934. The tabletop bronze sculpture was created in an edition of just five, and is currently owned by the Munnings Art Museum in Colchester, Essex, which also owns a second. Scarlett Walsh, sculpture specialist at Christie's London, said: 'Sir Alfred Munnings is rightly celebrated as one of Britain's greatest equestrian painters, and Brown Jack reveals his extraordinary ability to capture the character and form of the horse in three dimensions. 'Executed with anatomical precision and deep personal affection, the work stands as a powerful tribute to one of the most iconic racehorses in British sporting history. 'Brown Jack offers collectors a rare opportunity to own a work of remarkable artistic and historical significance, also with outstanding provenance. It is a masterpiece of equine portraiture and a lasting testament to the artist's lifelong devotion to the subject he loved most.' The sculpture is estimated to sell for up to £300,000 at the auction, Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture.
