Gray Stallion

c. 1850 or later

A pearlescent, gold-shaded, white dappled horse stands in front of a dark background in this horizontal painting. The horse faces our left in profile and lifts its head. Its four feet are evenly spaced, and the back of his hindquarters and his tail are largely swallowed in shadow. Light glistens off the horse’s muscles along its body and neck. Traces of a signature in light paint are illegible in the lower left corner.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 59.7 x 74.4 cm (23 1/2 x 29 5/16 in.)
    framed: 84.5 x 97.8 x 6.7 cm (33 1/4 x 38 1/2 x 2 5/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1984.29.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Percy Moore Turner [d. by 1951]; Henry Nugent Banks (1828-1883); The Honorable Mrs. Rupert Baring (1913-1970); (Frank Partridge and Sons, London);[1] Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia, by 1967; (Mellon sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd, New York, 15 November 1983, no. 3, bought in); gift 1984 to NGA.
[1] Provenance prior to Mr. and Mrs. Mellon is according to 1983 sales catalogue.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1967

  • French Paintings from the Collection of Paul Mellon, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1967-1968, no cat.

1993

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Mike Espy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1993-1995.

Bibliography

1978

  • Grunchec, Philippe. Gericault, tout l'oeuvre peint. Paris, 1978: 93, no. 52-E.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 173, repro.

1987

  • Bazin, Germain. Théodore Gericault, étude critique, documents et catalogue raisonné. 6 vols. Paris, 1987-1997: 3(1989):109, no. 609.

2000

  • Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 261-264, repro.

Inscriptions

falsely inscribed lower left: Gericault

Wikidata ID

Q20187968

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