Sir Alfred James Munnings KCVOThe Royal Victorian Order
is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognizing distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms,
any members of her family, or any of her...
,
PRAThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London, England. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment...
(8 October 187817 July 1959) was known as one of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken enemy of
ModernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late...
. Engaged by
Lord BeaverbrookWilliam Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
's Canadian War Memorials Fund, he earned several prestigious commissions after
the Great WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
that made him wealthy.
Biography
Alfred Munnings was born 8 October 1878 at
MendhamMendham may refer to:* Mendham, New Jersey , USA* Mendham Township, New Jersey, USA* Mendham, Suffolk, England* Mendham, Saskatchewan, Canada...
,
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
across the
River WaveneyThe Waveney is a river which forms the border between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads.-Course:The source of the river is a ditch on the east side of the B1113 road between the villages of Redgrave, Suffolk and South Lopham, Norfolk...
from
HarlestonHarleston is a town located in the southern limits of the county of Norfolk. It shares a parish with the village of Redenhall; the parish has a total area of and the population of the parish is 4058 Many Georgian residences line the streets and a bustling market takes place every Wednesday....
in
NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast, including The Wash. The county town is Norwich...
. At fourteen he was apprenticed to a
NorwichNorwich is a city in Norfolk, East Anglia which is in Eastern England. It is the regional administrative centre and county city of Norfolk...
printer, designing and drawing advertising posters for the next six years, attending the
Norwich School of ArtNorwich University College of the Arts is a higher education specialist art and design college, based on a single site in the centre of Norwich, in the United Kingdom...
in his spare time. When his apprenticeship ended, he became a full time painter. The loss of sight in his right eye in an accident in 1898 did not deflect his determination to paint, and in 1899 two of his pictures were shown at the
Royal Academy Summer ExhibitionThe Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London during the summer months of June, July and August...
. He painted rural scenes, frequently of subjects such as Gypsies and horses.
He was associated with the
Newlyn SchoolThe Newlyn School is a term used to describe a colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists fled...
of painters.
Although he volunteered to join the Army, he was assessed as unfit to fight. In 1917, his participation in the war was limited to a civilian job outside of Reading, processing tens of thousands of Canadian horses en route to France—and often death. Later, he was assigned to one of the horse remount depots on the Western Front.
Munnings' talent was employed as
war artistA war artist, also known as a combat artist, captures the experience of war in an artistic manner whilst based in the battlefield. Unlike war poets, a war artist is almost always acting in an official capacity.- Australian :...
to the
Canadian Cavalry Brigade under the patronage of Max Aitken in the latter part of the war. During the war he painted many scenes, including a mounted portrait of General Jack Seely
Warrior in 1918 (now in the collection of the
National Gallery of CanadaThe National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
, Ottawa). Munnings worked on this canvas a few thousand yards from the German front lines. When General Seely's unit was forced into a hasty withdrawal, the artist discovered what it was like to come under shellfire.
Munnings also painted
Charge of Flowerdew's Squadron in 1918 (now in the collection of the
Canadian War MuseumThe Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum focuses on military conflicts that occurred on Canadian soil, involved Canadian forces, or had a significant effect on the country and its people...
, Ottawa). In what is known as "the last great cavalry charge" at the
Battle of Moreuil WoodThe Battle of Moreuil Wood was an engagement of World War I that took place on the banks of the Arve River in France, where the Canadian Cavalry Brigade attacked and forced the German 23rd Saxon Division to withdraw from Moreuil Wood, a commanding position on the river bank...
,
Gordon FlowerdewGordon Muriel Flowerdew VC was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, received for his actions at the Battle of Moreuil Wood.-Details:He was 33 years old, and...
was posthumously awarded the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
for leading
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)Lord Strathcona's Horse is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of Land Force Western Area's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. When deployed overseas, however, the regiment is placed in ad hoc formations that report...
in a successful engagement with entrenched German forces.
The
Canadian Forestry CorpsThe Canadian Forestry Corps was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.-First World War:The Forestry Corps was created during the First World War when it was discovered that huge quantities of wood were needed for use on the Western Front. Duckboards, shoring timbers, crates -- anything that...
invited Munnings to tour their work camps, and he produced drawings, watercolors and paintings, including
Draft Horses, Lumber Mill in the Forest of Dreux in France in 1918. This role of horses was critical and under-reported; and in fact, horse
fodderIn agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
was the single largest commodity shipped to the front by some countries.
The "Canadian War Records Exhibition" at the Royal Academy after war's end included forty-five of Munnings canvasses.
Munnings was elected president of the Royal Academy of Art in 1944, a post he held until 1949. His presidency is most famous for the departing speech he gave in 1949, attacking modernism. The broadcast was heard by millions of listeners to BBC radio. An evidently inebriated Munnings claimed that the work of
CézannePaul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century...
,
MatisseHenri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. He was a master draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but excelled primarily as a painter. Matisse is regarded, with Picasso, as the greatest artist of the 20th century...
and
PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. Commonly known simply as Picasso, he is one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art...
had corrupted art. He recalled that
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
had once said to him, "Alfred, if you met Picasso coming down the street would you join with me in kicking his... something something?" to which Munnings said he replied "Yes Sir, I would".
He was awarded a knighthood in 1944. He died at
Castle HouseCastle House, Dedham, Essex was the home of Sir Alfred Munnings from 1919 till his death in 1959.Architecturally Castle House contains a mixture of Tudor and Georgian elements....
,
DedhamDedham is a village within the Borough of Colchester in northeast Essex, England, situated on the River Stour and on the border of Essex and Suffolk.-Geography:...
,
EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
, on 17 July 1959. After his death, his wife turned their home in Dedham into a museum of his work. The village pub in Mendham is named after him.
At auction
His immensely popular sporting art works have enjoyed popularity in the United States as well as the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Represented by agents Frost & Reed of London while he was alive his works found homes in some of the wealthiest consumers of the day.
The highest price to date (January 2007) of a Munnings painting was from a work held by The Greentree Foundation (the Collection of Mr. and Mrs.
John Hay WhitneyJohn Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
) at
Sotheby'sSotheby's is the world's third oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674 and the second oldest is Uppsala Auktionskammare founded in 1731, both Swedish...
in New York City May 5, 2004. Lot 30, "The Red Prince Mare," sold for $7,848,000, far above his previous auction record of $4,292,500 set at
Christie'sChristie's is a leading art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in December, 1999. It was one of four works by Munnings in the auction. "The Red Prince Mare" is a 40-by-60-inch oil on canvas that was executed in 1921 and had an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000.
Writings
- An Artist's Life (London 1950)
- The Second Burst (London 1951)
- The Finish (London 1952)
External links