Horses

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the year of the horse. For this guided tour of the collection, Anne Gowan highlights the horse in its various forms.

The horse in nature: its anatomy represented in George Stubbs’s ‘Whistlejacket’ and ‘A horse frightened by Lightning’.

The horse in literature: Honoré-Victorin Daumier’s ‘Don Quixote and Sancho Panza’.

The horse in war: Paolo Veronese’s ‘The Family of Darius before Alexander’, Paolo Uccello's ‘The Battle of San Romano’ and Francesco Pesellino’s ‘The Triumph of David’.

The horse in work, industry and transition: John Constable’s ‘The Hay Wain’.

The power of the horse: Rosa Bonheur’s ‘The Horse Fair’.

The horse as propaganda: Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Equestrian Portrait of Charles I’.

And finally, the horse in mythology.

After a degree in History of Art and Design, Anne Gowan interned at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham. Following this she lectured in History of Art and Design at Stourbridge College of Art and Stafford University and worked at West Midlands Arts, the regional base for the Arts Council. Since moving to London over 30 years ago, her career has been in media, while still maintaining her interest in arts. Gowan became a Blue Badge Tourist Guide in 2023 with the ability to translate knowledge and enthusiasm into a descriptive storytelling style for an enjoyable gallery experience.