Many of you may have been following Cheltenham Races this week. Seeing the green and yellow hooped silks of John P McManus is reminiscent of this spectacular live action work of the 1953 Grand National (SOLD).
This 20th century English school painting depicts jockeys at Becher’s Brook going around for the second time at the 1953 Grand National. This oil on canvas is in a modern good quality frame and is signed Tiffany.
Unusually, we have the original photo from which the painting was taken, adding another dimension to the history of the painting.
The 1953 Grand National took place on 28th March at Aintree. The race was won by eight year old Early Mist at odds of 20/1. A successful race for all involved, Early Mist was the first of trainer Vincent O’Brien’s three consecutive Grand National victories. His jockey, Bryan Marshall, would also go on to win a second successful National the following year on Royal Tan.
Only five horses finished out of the original 31. In second place was Montremblanc and in third place was Irish Lizard. You can see the race in full in the video below from British Pathe.
With the 2016 Grand National just around the corner in April, this would make an ideal addition to any racing followers art collection.