1780: The first sale for George Stubbs’s equine masterpiece

Christie’s salerooms have handled Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath by the renowned English Old Masters artist four times since it was first commissioned in 1765

A JEWEL IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTING ART, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Jockey and a Stable Lad has now passed through Christie’s salerooms four times since its first auction on March 11, 1780. It more than doubled the previous record for a work by George Stubbs when it commanded more than £22 million ($35.9m) at Christie’s London on July 5, 2011, becoming the third most expensive Old Master ever sold. The painting, commissioned by Frederick St. John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke—one of Stubbs’s most notable patrons—is considered an important example of both British art and sporting painting, and portrays Gimcrack, one of the most popular and admired 18th-century racehorses. There are five paintings of the stallion, but Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath is considered the best. b christies.com