An exhibit of the fine sporting art, American paintings and sculpture cataloged for the inaugural Sporting Art Auction will be open to the public Monday-Saturday, Oct. 28-Nov. 2, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion.
The Sporting Art Auction will be held Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 4 p.m. in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion. The public also is welcome to view the artwork during the November Breeding Stock Sale, which runs Nov. 5-14.
The auction features 174 high-quality lots, highlighted by works from such renowned artists as Sir John Frederick Herring Sr., Sir Alfred J. Munnings, Edward Troye, Franklin Voss, Peter Curling and Andre Pater. The auction also includes works by three generations of Wyeths – grandfather N.C., father Andrew, and son Jamie – and the American painter Mary Cassatt.
Among the auction’s most important pieces are several by Munnings, including Blue Prince II, a 26½” x 39¼” painting commissioned by Thoroughbred owner and breeder Walter Jeffords. Munnings, who died in 1959, is regarded as one of the world’s finest equine painters. Also cataloged is Troye’s iconic portrait of the 19th-century stallion Lexington.
The Sporting Art Auction, a new company formed by Keeneland and Cross Gate Gallery of Lexington, represents a collaboration between the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and the country’s premier gallery of fine sporting art and contemporary British figurative painting.
Keeneland’s portion of the auction proceeds will benefit its non-profit initiatives, including the Keeneland Library Foundation. Auction catalogs will be available from auction representatives in the Sales Pavilion, or via the Sporting Art Auction website at: www.thesportingartauction.com
