"The painting dominates the exhibition space with an almost theatrical presence. Scrub rears against a pale, open background, his powerful body twisting mid-movement, the light catching every muscle and tendon. The scale and grandeur suggests that Stubbs was not simply painting animals but elevating them to an importance that was usually reserved for kings and generals."
"Commissioned by the horse-owning 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, George Stubbs was supposed to paint King George III on one of the Marquess's own horses. However, that first painting was so lifelike that it's alleged the horse actually tried to attack it, and the Marquess kept it in its unfinished state, not just missing the King, but also on a plain background."
"It has remained in private ownership ever since, and only once before has it been seen by the public - for a couple of months in 2008 at an exhibition in Leeds."
George Stubbs' masterpiece Scrub is now on public display at the National Gallery in a free equine art exhibition, marking only the second time the painting has been seen publicly. The work depicts a horse rearing against a pale background with remarkable anatomical detail, demonstrating Stubbs' elevation of animals to the importance typically reserved for royalty. The painting has a fascinating history: it was commissioned as a successor to Whistlejacket, which the Marquess of Rockingham had originally commissioned to feature King George III. When the Marquess declined to purchase Scrub, possibly due to a political falling out with the King, the painting remained in Stubbs' possession until his death and subsequently in private ownership for centuries.
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