Visitors looking to mark the 300th birthday of world-renowned equestrian painter George Stubbs can ride into north Lincolnshire for a new trail featuring life-sized horse sculptures.
The Horsing Around trail is part of a programme to mark the anniversary of Stubbs’ birth, and his little-known connection to the county.
Although born in Liverpool on 25 August 1724, and living in York and then London, he spent around two years in Lincolnshire, which is where he began work on his classic book of British art and science, The Anatomy of the Horse.
All the preliminary work, including the physical dissecting and the illustrating of many horse carcasses was done in the village of Horkstow, near Barton-upon-Humber.
Now his links with the county are being celebrated with the trail – made up of 20 horse sculptures – as well as a new exhibition at Normanby Hall, eight miles away from Stubbs’ Lincolnshire home.
Families will be able to discover five eye-catching life-sized sculptures in Scunthorpe town centre, while four more are displayed in locations connected to the painter: Horkstow, Barton’s Baysgarth Park, Scawby, and Redbourne. The final horse has cantered into Normanby Hall Country Park’s Rural Life Museum.
A further 10 miniature horses have also now made their home in Normanby Hall Country Park for visitors to find as part of the trail, which runs until 5 January 2025.
Each one has been individually decorated by an artist who has worked with a local school or community group to bring their horse to life.
More information on the stories behind each sculpture are included in a Trail Guide, which is available in print at the North Lincolnshire Museum, Normanby Hall Country Park and Scunthorpe’s 2021 Visual Arts Centre, as well as online.
Meanwhile, Normanby Hall itself – a regency mansion set in 300 acres of picturesque parkland – will be hosting an exhibition celebrating the painter, Inspired by Stubbs, which also runs until 5 January 2025. It features sketchbooks, paintings and sculptures and reveals how Stubbs is still influencing artists today (www.normanbyhall.co.uk/exhibitions).
The project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. Additional funding has come from Arts Council England through the Humber Museums Partnership, of which North Lincolnshire Museums is a partner.
For more details about the Horsing Around trail, visit https://bit.ly/4cAU8pl
For information about visiting Lincolnshire, see www.visitlincolnshire.com