George Stubbs, 'A Gentleman driving a Lady in a Phaeton', 1787
About the work
Overview
A gentleman and a lady sit in an open carriage. Their identities are unknown, and it is unclear if they are married. This type of high-built, four-wheel carriage was typically driven by its gentleman-driver owner, rather than by a coachman. It was known as a ‘phaeton’ after the son of the Greek god Helios, who attempted to ride the chariot of the sun and almost set the earth on fire. With a minimal, lightly sprung body mounted on large wheels, the phaeton was particularly used for recreational driving and racing.
Stubbs gives as much attention to the phaeton and its construction as he does to its two occupants or the pair of horses pulling it. Placing the carriage against dark foliage allows him to show the undercarriage mechanism in meticulous detail.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Gentleman driving a Lady in a Phaeton
- Artist
- George Stubbs
- Artist dates
- 1724 - 1806
- Date made
- 1787
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 82.5 × 101.6 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Miss H.S. Hope, 1920
- Inventory number
- NG3529
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Judy Egerton, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings’, London 2000; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1929W.S. Sparrow, George Stubbs and Ben Marshall, London 1929
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1946Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: British School, London 1946
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1946M. Davies, Paintings and Drawings on the Backs of National Gallery Pictures, London 1946
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1951Walker Art Gallery, George Stubbs, 1724-1806 (exh. cat. Walker Art Gallery, 13 July - 28 August 1951), Liverpool 1951
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1959Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: British School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1959
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1961M. Watney, The Elegant Carriage, London 1961
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1971C.-A. Parker, Mr Stubbs: The Horse Painter, London 1971
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1980J. Mills and R. White, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, IV, 1980, pp. 65-7
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1984J. Egerton, George Stubbs, London 1984
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1985J. Mills and R. White, 'The Mediums used by George Stubbs: Some Further Studies', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, IX, 1985, pp. 60-4
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1997D. Bomford, Conservation of Paintings, London 1997
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1998J. Egerton, The British School, London 1998
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2000Egerton, Judy, National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings, revised edn, London 2000
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2002J. Egerton, George Stubbs: Le Peintre 'très Anglais' du Cheval, 1724-1806, Paris 2002
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2004L. Mayer and G. Myers, Painting in an Age of Innovation. Stubbs's Experiments in Enamel and Wax Stubbs and the Horse (exh. cat. Kimbell Art Museum, 14 November 2004 - 6 February 2005; Walters Art Museum, 13 March - 29 May 29 2005; The National Gallery, London, 29 June - 25 September 2005), New Haven 2004
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2004M. Warner and R. Blake, Stubbs and the Horse (exh. cat. Kimbell Art Museum, 14 November 2004 - 6 February 2005; Walters Art Museum, 13 March - 29 May 29 2005; The National Gallery, London, 29 June - 25 September 2005), New Haven 2004
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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