EUR
CAD
AUD
GBP
MXN
HKD
CNY
MYR
SEK
SGD
CHF
THBSir Alfred James Munnings (English 1878-1959)
About Seller
65 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
United States
Copley Fine Art Auctions is the world's leading American sporting art auction company. Located in Hingham, MA, Copley specializes in antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Principal Stephen O'Brien Jr., a fourth-generation sportsman with a refined colle...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Two ways to bid:
- Leave a max absentee bid and the platform will bid on your behalf up to your maximum bid during the live auction.
- Bid live during the auction and your bids will be submitted real-time to the auctioneer.
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,500 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $25,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
About Auction
LiveFeb 12, 2015 - Feb 13, 2015
Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (564)
- Lot Description
Traveler, 1924
signed "A. J. Munnings" lower left
oil on board, 20 by 24 in.
Alfred J. Munnings, who was born in 1878, is considered one of the greatest British equine and sporting painters. He was a great impressionist who depicted every level of the horse and hunt society in which he traveled, from farmhands to the top horses and jockeys of the day.In 1924, Munnings traveled to America aboard the Berengaria. During this trip he completed a number of high-profile commissions, including this portrait of Traveler for Mrs. Hilda Ayer, as well as works for other prominent horsemen and women in New York, and he served on the jury of the Carnegie International exhibition, then a leading contemporary art show held by the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.
“Traveler” is an example displaying the artist blending colors. This work displays the artist’s classic composition and was painted near the height of Munnings’ career, when prominent commissions and worldwide travel brought him to the country estates of the world’s riding and sporting elite. By 1928 Munnings was a full Academician at the Royal Academy in London. In 1924 he was an associate of the RA, and exhibited a portrait with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. His works display technical mastery, deft brushwork, commanding colors, and a deep understanding of his subjects.
Hilda Rice Ayer, who commissioned the painting from Munnings, brought Traveler to her residence at Ledyard Farm, Wenham, Massachusetts in the late 1910s. She was a strong outdoorswoman with a love for horses who grew up at Turner Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Hilda married Frederick Ayer in 1914, and Fred, a horseman himself, was a member of the Myopia Hunt Club where he also played polo.
Fred was the son of Frederick Ayer, a Boston industrialist whose residence on Commonwealth Avenue was designed by noted American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. Fred’s uncle was Dr. James Ayer, who made a fortune through his patent medicine business, and his sister Beatrice married General George Patton in 1910.
Fred’s son Frederick Ayer played polo at Harvard, where the Crimson reported a match as “ably supported by Fred Ayer '37,” before going on to be Myopia’s Captain of Polo. He was on the club’s 1938 team that won the New England Championship’s W. Cameron Forbes Trophy, the first year of the trophy’s existence. The Myopia polo team came in second the next two years. Additionally, Ayer is quoted in Horace A. Laffaye’s “Polo in the United States: A History.”
Traveler's portrait hung at Ledyard Farm until Hilda's death in 1978, at which point the painting traveled down through the family, hanging at Great Elm Farm in Wenham, Massachusetts, with Hilda and Fred’s son Neil Rice Ayer. Upon his death in 1990, the painting passed to his wife, Helen Harrison Ayer.
In 1973, Neil and Helen Ayer were invited to the wedding of fellow equestrians Princess Anne and Capt. Mark Phillips by the Queen of England. Ledyard Farm, where Munnings saw and painted Traveler in 1924, is currently an equestrian cross country riding destination with an emphasis on three day eventing. The first international three day event in the United States was held at Ledyard in 1973, and the farm continues to honor Hilda’s love of horses and horsemanship.
Provenance: Frederick and Hilda Rice Ayer, Ledyard Farm, Wenham, MassachusettsNeil Rice Ayer, Great Elm Farm, Wenham, Massachusetts
Helen Harrison Ayer, by descent
Literature: Horace A. Laffaye, "Polo in the United States: A History," Jefferson, NC, 2011.
- Shipping Info
-
Shipping info
Copley Fine Art Auctions does not handle the shipping of any items. Shipping is the sole responsibility of the buyer. Once your payment has cleared, and we have received your authorized shipping release form items may be released for shipment. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC shall have no liability for any loss or damage to such items. Buyers should allow up to four weeks for shipment.PLEASE BE AWARE THAT INTERNET BIDDERS MAY NOT PICK UP THEIR ITEMS AT THE SALE SITE. ITEMS CAN BE PICKED UP BY APPOINTMENT OR SHIPPED STARTING FIVE DAYS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE SALE
-
- Buyer's Premium
