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Lot 32AR

Sir Alfred James Munnings P.R.A., R.W.S.
(British, 1878-1959)
Sunshine in Exmoor 55.9 x 71.2 cm. (22 x 28 in.)

29 May 2013, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £17,500 inc. premium

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Sir Alfred James Munnings P.R.A., R.W.S. (British, 1878-1959)

Sunshine in Exmoor
signed 'A. J. Munnings.' (lower right)
oil on canvas
55.9 x 71.2 cm. (22 x 28 in.)

Footnotes

PROVENANCE:
With Ian MacNicol, Glasgow
Sale; Christie's, London, 10 June 1983, lot 219

"The call of the sun was one of the strongest forces in Munnings' career' and he had a contagious joy in painting stated Reginald Pound (Reginald Pound, The Englishman, Heinemann, London, 1962, p.47 & p.27). It was difficult for Munnings to remain inside when the sun beckoned.

Munnings spent the war years in Exmoor, as his house in Dedham, Essex had been requisitioned by the army. He would climb the rugged, bracken-laden hills painting textures that absorbed or reflected the sun's rays. His practice was to ride out with paints and equipment onto Exmoor often in search of herds of elusive wild ponies. This sun-drenched scene with its meandering road cut into the hillside was enough to capture his attention.

In this work, one can almost feel the sunshine as it warms the grassy valley and opposite hill. Foreground shadows reveal late afternoon sun dropping behind the hill's crest on which the artist stands. In this uncluttered arrangement of sweeping bands of colour, Munnings has captured Exmoor's primal beauty and timelessness.

This work will appear in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Sir Alfred Munnings being prepared by Lorian Peralta-Ramos and we are grateful to her for compiling this catalogue entry.

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