COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

The Dictionary of
British Equestrian Artists
by Sally Mitchell
Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1985.

Sally Mitchell's The Dictionary of British Equestrian Art is the most-referred-to book in the National Sporting Library's art collection. If someone calls or drops by to research a sporting artist or painting, this book immediately comes off the shelf.

Arranged alphabetically, hundreds of artists are listed along with a short biography of each and in most cases, an example of the artist's work. Mitchell writes in the introduction, "This book is published, when after centuries of neglect and even contempt, sporting art is finally being recognised as one of the most important branches of British art in general. It is thanks to The British Sporting Art Trust that we have at last a national collection of sporting art. This collection is not only a joy itself but also a record of times gone by and of a world which will never be the same."

The same can be said of Mitchell's book. The amount of research she conducted is astounding in its scope and depth. The book is also a marvelous visual history of field sports so dear to the National Sporting Library.

Detail of "The last horse race run before Charles II" by Francis C. Barlow, who Mitchell refers to as "The father of British sporting art."

The opening chapter, "The development of British equestrian art" traces the history of sporting art from the early 18th-century paintings by Francis Barlow, Jan Wyck, Robert Byng and John Wootton, to the outstanding painters of the 20th century such as Lionel Edwards, Alfred J. Munnings and Gilbert S. Wright.

Mitchell's book contains two other historically useful features: 1) a chronology of dates of the main equestrian artists and events, 1600-1980; and 2) a pictorial chronology of dress, saddlery and dressing of manes and tails. The pictorial chronology is an excellent reference for those who wish to research the evolution of equestrian styles. Mitchell uses details from paintings to illustrate the changes from 1700 to 1959.

Examples of bridles, manes and ears 1740 to 1759.

Many of the works of art displayed in the Library are by artists Mitchell records in her Dictionary.