‘The Horse in Art’ exhibition at Mall Galleries, London

Of COURSE I’m going into a gallery signposted with the words “The Horse in Art” even if at that very moment, I was headed elsewhere. Having been horse crazy in my tween years, I couldn’t resist a look in at these noble creatures immortalised in the creative efforts by members of the Society of Equestrian Artists. On ’til 7 September at Mall Galleries (near Trafalgar Square), London, with artwork available for purchase from the Society until 31 October 2014.

The Society of Equestrian Artists celebrate the horse

In the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2014 is all about our equine friends, making this annual exhibition of “The Horse in Art” by The Society of Equestrian Artists yet another reason to celebrate these magnificent animals (and the humans that love them). My late grandfather, a WWII veteran, was especially fond of horses and this painting by Sarah Clegg of a soldier and his companion touched a soft spot…

Most of the 130 or so artworks were 2D (paintings or drawings) along with a few sculptures in bronze or ceramic, all more or less sticking to expected themes and showing horses doing horsey things: prancing about, loitering in paddocks, lying in fields…

And then there was this intriguing one by Martyna Sikora, a smallish pencil portrait of a horse’s head sort of emerging from wire mesh.

The final picture was a classically arresting near-life sized oil portrait by Warren Heaton, who captured the confident personality of a black beauty named Ricky, one whom I felt was eyeballing me from across the room and demanding a closer look. (Sorry, Ricky, I can’t take you home; a London-sized flat means no room for horses…)

It was a fun 15 minutes looking at pictures of some of my favourite animals, and if you’re into collecting that sort of thing, the art was very affordable, too.

Finally, this related tidbit from Reddit:

Note: Since the exhibition was so brief, I should point out the work can still be viewed on the Society’s website and many of the works are also available for purchase until 31st October, by contacting The Hon Secretary Debbie Dunbar at 0300 0110 185 or by email sec@equestrianartists.co.uk.

More links and Info:

• The Horse in Art at Mall Galleries, The Mall, London
• Click the link to see more information about The Society of Equestrian Artists
• See a slideshow of “The Horse in Art” on The Society of Equestrian Artists website
• “Were Neanderthals really artists?” by Jonathan Jones for the Guardian – 3 September 2014 – “A line may or may not be “abstract art”. A beautiful picture of a horse cannot be mistaken for anything except what it is – the human brain working at its best.”

Exhibition details: The Horse in Art at Mall Galleries, The Mall (near Trafalgar Square), London, SW1 is on until 7 September 2014.