Stubbs, George, 1724–1806, English painter of horses and etcher. Self-taught, Stubbs was interested in comparative anatomy and published his Anatomy of the Horse (1766), which is still admired for accuracy and elegance. It gained him a first-rate career as a painter of horse portraits and family groups with carriages. His Phaeton and Pair (National Gall., London) is well known. He painted several rural scenes and made many sporting etchings.

Bibliography

See study by B. Taylor (1971).

Stubbs, George

(born Aug. 24, 1724, Liverpool, Eng.—died July 10, 1806, London) British animal painter and anatomical draftsman. Son of a prosperous tanner, he was briefly apprenticed to a painter but was basically self-taught. His masterly depictions of hunters and racehorses brought him innumerable commissions. Perhaps more impressive than the single portraits are his pictures of informal groups of horses, such as Mares and Foals in a Landscape (c. 1760–70). He also painted many other animals, including lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, and rhinoceroses, which he was able to observe in private menageries. His book The Anatomy of the Horse (1762), containing 18 masterfully engraved plates, was widely acclaimed.