2024 marks the 300^th anniversary of the birth of George Stubbs and North Lincolnshire is celebrating his connection with our region.

Between 1756 and 1758, under the patronage of Sir John Nelthorpe Stubbs spent 18 months in Horkstow dissecting and studying horses which led to the publication of ‘The Anatomy of the horse’ in 1766.

His legacy and influence are still an inspiration to today’s artists.

This exhibition features three contemporary artists who carry on the tradition of investigation and observation of the natural world.

York sculptor Harold Gosney may be a familiar figure to many as he taught sculpture at Grimsby Art School for many years and his life-sized wooden former and riveted copper Horse and Rider can be seen on permanent display at Normanby Hall. The horse is a central theme in Harold’s work, and he often uses mythical stories and historical events as inspiration. This collection will also include some drawings and paintings that go alongside his metal sculptures.

Emma Rodgers is another artist who will be familiar to regular visitors as she has exhibited with us since 2002. Her career has gone from strength to strength, and she has had major public commissions including the life-size sculpture of Cilla Black that stands outside The Cavern Club in Liverpool. Emma’s work has always featured animals and ‘The Anatomy of The Horse’ has proved an invaluable piece of reference material. For this exhibition she has created work inspired by the paintings of Stubbs housed in the Walker Gallery and as he was born in Liverpool this makes a contemporary parallel.

The final artist is Ropewalk Studio artist Sally Beaumont. A graduate of Hornsey College of Art and the Slade School, London, her work is playful and unpretentious, and, always, the default image is the Horse. This show of paintings and prints combines many current horse-related themes that apart from Stubbs include work influenced by W.W.1 photos taken by her grandfather working in the A.V.C. in Mesopotamia.

There are further exhibitions and events at Normanby Hall and Scawby Hall, home of the Nelthorpe family.