Lucy Kemp Welch, Old Grey Mare with her Foal

Old Grey Mare with her Foal, date unknown   Oil on card   Purchased, 2009   Kemp-Welch is known for her paintings of animals, especially horses. As an illustrator she brought to life Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty – the Autobiography of a Horse and her skill and commitment to her subject resulted in her being elected the first president of the Society of Animal Painters in 1914. This small and quiet study of a horse and her foal can be viewed in contrast to Winter’s White Silence, a significant work by Kemp-Welch which is on display in Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum’s permanent collection.