Painting of broodmare tops Sporting Art Auction at Keeneland

Sir Alfred James Munnings’ signed painting Lord Astor’s Broodmare and Foal topped the third annual Sporting Art Auction on Wednesday evening at Keeneland, hammering for $207,000, including buyer premium.

The single-day auction was a collaborative effort between Keeneland and Cross Gate Gallery of Lexington, the country’s premier gallery of fine sporting art and contemporary British figurative painting.

This year’s renewal featured 174 lots, with 82 percent of the offerings selling for gross revenues of $2,534,370. More than 37 percent of the works brought final bids at or above their listed high estimate value.

Munnings, a native of Great Britain who lived from 1878 to 1959, is recognized as one of the two great masters of sporting art, along with George Stubbs. His sale-topping piece was a 13 ½ inch-by-16 inch oil on board, which he painted in the 1930s when adding to his commissions for William Waldorf, 2nd Viscount Astor.

The piece was one of three offerings to bring six figures. Andre Pater’s Early Summer, an oil on canvas depiction of cattle drinking from a watering hole, hammered for $161,000, while Longchamp Paddock, an acrylic on canvas by LeRoy Neiman, sold for $138,000.