The National Sporting Library NEWSLETTER A RESEARCH CENTER FOR HORSE AND FIELD SPORTS MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA NUMBER66 FALL 2002 SOJOURN: MELLON ART ON LOAN FROM YALE by Lisa Campbell Sojourn at Home: Sporting Library including the Paul Paintings from the Paul Mellon foyer, the Founders' Mellon Bequest to the Yale Room and the main reading Center for British Art, a new room. exhibit at the National Sporting The Yale Center for British Library in Middleburg, opened Art has generously loaned the to the public on October 7, as works to the Library, many of part of the Forrest E. Mars Sr. which were once displayed in Exhibition Series. A gala open- Mellon's private museum, the ing reception was held October Brick House, near Upperville. 4, for Chairman's Council mem- Paintings in the Library's bers. show date from 1765 to the early "This show captures the 20th century. The most noble essence of British sporting art so painting in the exhibit is Study of loved by Mellon," said Walta Paul Mellon on Knight of the Galtees-North Cotswold by a Saddled Bay Hunter (1828) by Warren, NSL curator. H. Raoul Mallais. John Femeley Sr. (1782-1860). The exhibit will present 16 Herring Sr., Alfred J. Munnings, Henry This beautiful portrait of a solid, works by seven highly regarded Thomas Alken, Lionel Edwards, H. Raoul sensible hunter once graced the sporting artists including John Mallais and James Dunthorne. The paintings main hall of the Brick House. Ferneley Sr., John Frederick will be displayed on the main floor of the Continued on page 2 McBean Grant Expands Shooting Collection T he National Sporting Library re- NSL director and sporting book col- cently acquired over 50 contem- lector who donated his entire 5,000- porary books to enhance the volume collection to the Library in shooting collection. the 1990s. For the shooting, Daniels Earlier this year, the NSL received recommended an expansion of the a generous grant for the Acquisitions reference section including books on Endowment Fund from the McBean guns manufactured by Browning, Family Foundation of San Mateo, Parker and Winchester. Also he sug- California. The donation is being uti- gested books written by noted au- lized to enhance the smaller sections thors of fiction and non-fiction of the Library such as the shooting shooting books such as Nash and angling collections. Buckingham and Havilah Babcock. As a first step, Librarian Robert Classic books on breeding and train- Weber selected a few books based on ing gun dogs for upland game hunt- suggestions by John H. Daniels, an Continued on page 3 Mellon Art Exhibit Continued from page 2 The alert gelding reflects a kind eye yet appears fit and keen for the field. The beauty of the painting is its sim- plicity; the only subject is the bay horse, with a background of naples yellow. Warren chose the Bay Hunter for the exhibition's poster. Ferneley painted numerous por- traits of hunters and racehorses, and several hunt scurries. These large panoramic scurries depict the open English countryside with fences and gnarled trees and several members The Start by Alfred J. Murmings. of the field at full gallop, some meet- ing mishap. paintings, Duck Shooting and Grouse Library has a rare folio-size copy of Two other oil paintings in the Shooting. Alken worked under the Herring's Portraits of the Winner of the show by Ferneley are Thomas pseudonym "Ben Tally Ho" early in St. Leger Stakes ... , published in 1824.) Wilkinson, MFH, with the Hurworth his career but later resumed his own The oldest painting in the show is Foxhounds (1833) and an oil on can- name. He produced a number of a humorous one of an unusual fox- vas of Edward Horner Reynard sketches and paintings of racing, hunting incident by James grouse shooting with his brother and hunting, coaching and other country Dunthorne (1730-1815) and commis- the game keeper, dated 1836. sports. He wrote The Beauties and sioned by John Sidey, master of the Three fabulous paintings by Defects in the Figure of a Horse (1816), pack. In John Sidey and His Hounds at Alfred J. Munnings (1878-1959) are in The National Sports of Great Britain a Farmhouse Near Hadleigh, Suffolk the show. Two are portraits commis- (1821), plus numerous sketch books, (1765), a fox has leaped off the roof sioned by the Earl of Derby of his many of which are in the NSL' s rare of a farmhouse and the hounds are outstanding racehorses Hyperion book room. boiling over the roof in hot pursuit. and Fairway after they were retired John Frederick Herring Sr. (1795- Sidey is astride a gray hunter with to stud. Hyperion won the Derby, the 1865) painted a series of four oils others nearby watching the scene St. Leger and the Prince of Wales which show the four important unfold. A note signed by Sidey Stakes at Ascot. He sired 118 stakes stages of hound work. The Suffolk reads: "The occurrence represented winners, and Mellon's Thorough- Hunt-Going to Cover near in this picture really happened .... " bred, Mill Reef, winner of the Epsom Harringswell, Going Away, Full Cry, A large and scenic oil by Lionel Derby, traces back to Hyperion. The and The Death are each approxi- Edwards (1878-1966) depicts the third Munnings work on exhibit is mately 11 x 15. The huntsman riding green open English countryside The Start (1950), an active image of his gray hunter appears in all except with a foxhunt spread through it. the last where the gray looks on as The painting, The Quorn running to- several racehorses with jockeys in the huntsman tries to pull aloft the wards Quenby Hall (1949), shows the colorful silks at the starting line. President of the Royal Academy fox out of the hounds' reach. hounds in full cry, having just made Herring, born in Surrey, began a a left-hand turn on the line with the from 1944-1959, Munnings is best known for his paintings of country career as a coachman at the age of 19 hunt staff and field following. but after seven years, he devoted his Edwards foxhunted with nearly sports, especially foxhunting and horseracing. Over a 60-year period, time to painting a number of highly every pack in England and was fre- he exhibited nearly 300 works at the regarded works. His engravings quently commissioned to capture R.A. Summer Exhibitions. The NSL were published in The Annals of the hunts he followed on canvas. Sporting, and in 1815 The Doncaster Early in his career, he studied with holds a number of books on his Gazette commissioned him to sketch Arthur Stockdale Cope (1857-1940), work, including his three-volume the annual winner of the St. Leger at Heatherly School in London and autobiography. stakes. (Thanks to the generosity of with W. Frank Calderon's school in Henry Thomas Alken (1785-1851) is represented in the exhibit with two NSL Director Jacqueline B. Mars, the Kensington. In the NSL' s collection, Continued on page -2 - The NSL Newsletter, Fall 2002 Mellon Art Exhibit Continued from page 2 Edwards's illustrations appear in 115 books. The last painting is of Mellon him- self, Paul Mellon on Knight of Galtees- North Cotswold. Mellon had commis- sioned H. Raoul :tvlillais (1901-1999) to paint him on Makista, his beloved steeplechase mare. "I wanted to be painted riding in a point-to-point on my successful mare Makista, but Millais turned up bearing a camera at the wrong point- to-point," writes Mellon in his auto- The Suffolk Hunt-Going to Cover near Harringswell by John Frederick Herring Sr. biography Reflections in a Silver Spoon (1992). "Instead of Makista, I was mounted on Knight of the Galtees, a an institution he built for the study horse I had bought a year earlier of British art According to the Yale from Liz Whitney." committee established to set policy Mellon hunted Knight then sent for it, the center was to be devoted to him to England with sorn~e of his "British culture and society within other hunters. The horse handled the period 1625-1850, with the Paul himself well in the field so Mellon Mellon Collection of British Art as decided to try him in a point-to- the focal point." It opened in 1977 point. Part way through the race, he with holdings of over 300 paintings, realized that the horse was falling 1,000 drawings and prints and 5,000 behind the pack. They finished 25 rare books donated by Mellon. lengths behind the next horse and "My interest in British art is part Study of a Saddled Bay Hunter Knight was making a "terrible roar- of my fascination with British life by John Ferneley Sr. ing noise." He never raced the horse and history," writes Mellon in again and gave him to a family as a Reflections in a Silver Spoon. "I grew to children's hunter. Later he contacted love English country life and coun- trainer Jock Whitney and described try sports. All these interests con- the horse's sad performance. Mellon Shooting Collection Expanded verged to make me ready to collect Continued from page 2 recalls Whitney's reply, "I don't paintings, drawings, books and wonder. I retired him because he had prints, wherever the subject matter is ing complete the initial acquisition. a shockingly bad heart." Mellon related to English life in the 13th and A sample of the newly acquired arranged to have the horse vetted early 19th centuries." books includes The Complete Guide to and Knight was put down soon after. Judy Egerton, author of British Bird Dog Training by John R. Falk Mellon didn't receive the painting Sporting and Animal Paintings 1655- (1986), Grouse and Woodcock: A until 40 years later when he hung it 1867, The Paul Mellon Collection Gunner's Guide by Don I. Johnson in his sporting library at Oak Spring, (1978), aptly describes the genre: (1995), Upland Tales by Worth his residence with his wife Rachel "British sporting art derives its char- Mathewson (2000), and The Ducks "Bunny" Mellon. "It is a pretty good acter from the same source as that Unlimited Guide to Shotgunning by portrait of the horse," he writes. "But other British specialty, the open air Don Zutz (2000). I've often wondered what would portrait. Both reflect a taste for infor- The new books are on display in have happened if he had fallen dead mality, an idealization of leisure and the main reading room and are listed on me." a love of country life." in the NSL' s online catalog at Mellon, a 1929 graduate of Yale, www.nsl.org. conceived the Center for British Art, The NSL Newslette1~ Fall 2002 -3 - Daniels Donate Original Illustrations N SL Director John H. Daniels field. Mason was a caricaturist and and Martha Daniels have do- book illustrator. In this painting, nated 25 original artworks which Whyte-Melville rides calmly with a illustrate rare sporting books in cigar in his mouth as he approaches the National Sporting Library's an ominous hedge over which sev- collection. eral other riders have come to grief. The artists include Henry Alken The donation includes four col- (1785-185Jt Paul Brown (1893- ored aqua tints "The First 1958), Finch Mason (1850-1915), Steeplechase on Record: Nacton Portrait of English sporting author Gordon Ross (1880-1955) and Edith Church and Village" by Henry G.J. Whyte-Melville by Finch Mason. O.E. Somerville (1858-1949). the Alken. In 1839, Alken illustrated the Daniels collected these unique foxhunting and a brave bitch hound episode for The Sporting Review works as part of their sporting book named Flora. Boker, who lived in which shows the 7th Hussars racing collection, and most are illustra- Philadelphia, wrote the poem in through the night over fences and tions for sporting books previously 1867. A friend, who was editor of through the town in their night donated to the NSL by the Daniels. Atlantic Monthly, wanted to publish shirts and caps. The drawings by Paul Brown are it in the magazine, but Boker Another Alken set includes four three framed illustrations for J. declined. watercolor paintings of a cockfight. Stanley Reeve's Foxhunting Alken made these preliminary Formalities (New York: The sketches for his book Derrydale Press, 1930), Reeve's National Sports of Great textbook on foxhunting etiquette Britain (London: Thomas and traditions. Brown used brushes McLean, 1823). In National and India ink to create the hunting Sports, he gives an scenes, then framed the drawings overview of country with impeccable French lines. sports including foxhunt- Artwork by Gordon Ross con- ing, stag hunting, horse- sists of two watercolor paintings for racing, coursing, shooting, by Paul Brown for Foxhunting Formalities Academy for Grown Horsemen by fly-fishing, prize fighting, Geoffrey Gambado (London: W. cockfighting and more. Dickenson, 1787). The illustrations Similar in style for the Boker Edith Somerville painted "An depict this hilarious tongue-in- book, six original Ross drawings il- Irish Trout Stream" and in 1929 pre- cheek manual which gives insight lustrate Rural Sports by John Gay sented it to Eugene Connett, pub- into 13th_century humor and (London: Bunny and Gold, 1801 lisher of The Derrydale Press. It pranks in the guise of advice for and 1802). The author writes in hung in his Manhattan office until day-to-day riders. prose and poetry to describe fox- his death in 1969. Somerville is best Five additional Ross drawings il- hunting, hounds and country life. known as the author and illustrator lustrate George Henry Boker's Finch Mason's watercolor paint- of many fiction and non-fiction poem Legend of the Hounds (New ing is a humorous portrait of author sporting books in collaboration York: William Edwin Rudge, 1929). G. J. Whyte-Melville in the hunting with Martin Ross. The poem depicts early American by Henry Thomas Alken for National Sports of Great Britain by Gordon Ross for Rural Sports -4 - The NSL Newsletter, Fall 2002 Chairman's Council Honored at Berrywick Directors of The National Sporting Library 102 The Plains Road Post Office Box 1335 Middleburg, Virginia 20118-1335 OFFICERS George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson President Clarke Ohrstrom Treasurer Karen Showalter Assistant Secretary-Treasurer James Houston drives Dolly & Hannah owned by Patricia Thomas DIRECTORS (right of Houston). Mimi Abel Smith Arthur W. Arundel O William M. Backer n September 5, members of the guests and then dinner on the front Donald Calder National Sporting Library's lawn overlooking their magnificent John Coles James Cummins Chairman's Council enjoyed an estate near The Plains, Virginia. John H. Daniels evening at Berrywick, the new home The Ohrstroms hosted the event Edward P. Evans of NSL Chairman and Mrs. George to honor Chairman's Council mem- Diana J. Firestone Helen K. Groves L. Ohrstrom Jr. The Ohrstroms of- bers whose support is so vital to the Sheila Johnson fered carriage rides for their 80 Library. Jacqueline B. Mars Christopher Ohrstrom F. Turner Reuter Jr. B. Francis Saul II Students Enjoy Exhibits Joan Irvine Smith William C. Steinkraus John von Stade I n September, Curator Walta tion: The Art of Wesley Dennis/' and Don W. Wilson Peter Winants Warren welcomed students from has guided groups of children, in- Anna Wells Zakroff The Hill School to view "Sporting cluding members of the Middle- Silhouettes: The Paul Mellon burg-Orange County Pony Club, THE NATIONAL SPORTING Weather Vane Collection at the around the exhibits and stacks. LIBRARY NEWSLETTER National Sporting (ISSN 1068-2007) Library" in the Forrest Number 66, Fall 2002 E. Mars Sr. Exhibit Published by the Hall. Their art teacher, National Sporting Library Linda Conti-White, Telephone 540-687-6542 brought eight classes http:/ /www.nsl.org of sixth, seventh and Lisa Campbelt Editor eighth graders over a Rebecca M. Tomlinson, . four-day period to see Acting Director how weather vanes are Robert Weber, Librarian constructed and to Walta Warren, sketch their favorite. Assistant Director/Curator Warren began the Karen Halver, tradition with "Art Be- Assistant to the Director tween Hard Covers" Peter Winants, Director Emeritus and "Inspired Anima- The NSL Newsletter, Fall 2002 -5 - Foxhunting with Melvin Poe Foxhzmting with Melvin Poe. By Peter hunting field and his particular man- Winants. The Derrydale Press, 4720 ner in the kennel and at hound Boston Way, Lanham, Md. 20706. shows, described in later chapters. 2002. 123pp. Photographs. $50.00. In many instances, Winants draws on hours of interviews with Poe and In the introduction to Foxhunting his wife Peggy, allowing the hunts- with Melvin Poe, author Peter man to tell his own story and de- Winants states: "[T]he pages that fol- scribe his own methods in the way low will describe the life and fox- only a natural storyteller can. hunting philosophy of an extremely Used generously throughout the talented and charismatic man who book is a splendid collection of color invariably draws a crowd." Such a and black-and-white photographs simple declaration of purpose belies that breathe even more life into the charm and eloquence with which Winants' s prose and draw the reader Winants succeeds at his task. into the enchanting world of Melvin While not a biography per se, Poe and Virginia foxhunting. Winants's work does relate impor- which he was born, raised, and has Win.ants, a professional photogra- tant events and elements in Poe's life lived his entire life, save for his serv- pher early in his career, has made in order to explore and explain his ice in Europe during World War II. wonderful use of local collections, foxhunting philosophy and the qual- This sets the perfect tone and pro- selecting images for their documen- ities that make him such a successful vides the necessary context for un- tary potential as well as their artistic huntsman. derstanding what makes him such quality, the eight pages of hounds at Particularly engrossing are the an extraordinary individual - "a the Orange County kennels being book's early chapters, which de- member of a dying breed." With this particularly remarkable. scribe Poe's family and childhood, as background, the reader better appre- -Robert Weber well as the heritage of the area in ciates Poe's uncanny success in the Notes on the Thoroughbred T he National Sporting Library comfortable establishing a mini- the pages numbered. The story goes has withdrawn Notes on the mum bid on it now," said Librarian that the printer missed his comple- Thoroughbred from Kentucky Newspa- Robert Weber. tion deadline one too many times. pers (circa 1927), compiled by Jolu1 O'Connor was the first person to An incensed Haggin picked up the L. O'Connor, from its annual dupli- systematically research the founda- pages while still in galley proof cate book sale because of the diffi- tions of Thoroughbreds in America. form and had them bound else- culty of establishing an acceptable His work became the basis for the where. minimum bid. writings of Fairfax Harrison, who The National Sporting Library's The Library has two copies of the produced seven volumes on the duplicate book sale is an annual seven in existence. The other copies history of the Thoroughbred. fundraiser open to Library mem- are held by University of Kentucky, O'Connor, a Thoroughbred enthusi- bers. This year's sale features some Northern Kentucky University, ast from an early age, combed early of the most remarkable books ever Keeneland Association Library, Kentucky newspapers (1788-1833) offered by the Library, including University of Virginia and Iowa for notes on racing and stallion ad- Capt. Thomas Williamson's Oriental State University. vertisements for Thoroughbreds, as Field Sports (1807), Thomas H. "To our knowledge, no copy of well as Quarter horses and Saddle- Taunton' s Portraits of Celebrated this book has ever been sold at auc- breds. The resulting Notes on the Racehorses (1887-88), Lionel tion before. One day a collector is Thoroughbred was privately printed Edwards's The Wiles of the Fox going to support a lot of NSL pro- by Louis Lee Haggin. (1932), and Somerville & Ross's grams through the purchase of this Notes on the Thoroughbred does Slippers' ABC of Fox Hunting (1903). collector's item. But I am just not not have a publication date, nor are -6 - The NSL Newsletter, Fall 2002 Happy Birthday, King Ranch Backer and Coles Elected to Boa rd O n October 4, the National Sporting Library Board of Directors elected William M. Backer and John Coles as members. Backer, of Smitten Farm in The Plains, Va., breeds and races Thoroughbreds, and hunts with Orange County. He has been quoted as saying: "Life would be wonderful if I could foxhunt half the year and go to horse sales the other half." Helen Groves was an avid competitor in national cutting horse events. Backer was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1996. Dear Friends at the National Sporting Library, He is the co-author of the song hit, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Next year is King Ranch's 15oth anniversary. We hope to establish a chair Sing" for Coca-Cola, among many in ranching at Texas A & M, Kingsville. There is no such thing anywhere and others. He is president of the how-to-do-everything-with-nothing ranchers are dying out. I guess ranch- Piedmont Environmental Council ing is part of field sports when you think it through. We want to see real Foundation. stewardship of the land, including enjoyment, kept alive. Coles, also of The Plains, came to When I grew up, ranching was not only hard work with long hours, it was Middleburg in 1976 to train horses also great fun! Riding on roundups, cutting, roping, sleeping and eating out- for the flat with EMO Stables. In doors and swimming in tanks or troughs was good. Meat killed in the a.m. 1978, Coles began riding and train- was ready for lunch whether beef, deer, quail or turkey. ing steeplechase horses for George I'm off to see three of our horses run - God willing - at Delaware Park. L. Ohrstrom Jr. and whipping-in to As ever, Melvin Poe, huntsman for Orange Helen Groves County Hunt. Coles is now Jt.-MFH of Orange County. Since 1990, he Helen Kleberg Groves has been a member of the NSL's Board of Directors since has been associated with Thomas 1993. She is a descendant of Richard King who founded the King Ranch in the and Talbot Real Estate. Coles is a 1850s. member of the Piedmont Environ- mental Council. William M. Backer Rebecca Tomlinson Named and Frankie. Acting Director John Coles R ebecca M. Tomlinson A former Capitol was named Acting Hill aide, in 1995 she Director of the National joined the Forbes for Sporting Library at a re- President campaign as cent meeting of the Board an associate director. of Directors. She will re- Following the end of place her husband, the campaign in 1996 Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, and her husband's re- who has taken a six-month tirement as editor-in- leave of absence following chief of Reader's Digest, his confirmation as the Tomlinsons moved Chairman of the to Middleburg. Broadcasting Board of Rebecca chaired the Governors which oversees Rebecca M. Tomlinson dedication of the new U.S. international broad- Library building for its casting including the new radio and grand opening in the fall of 1999. television initiatives in the Middle East. The NSL Newsletter, Fall 2002 -7 - The Chairman s Council 1 These friends of the National Sporting Library have taken a leadership role in their support of the Library by joining the Chairman's Council: Mr. and Mrs. William Abel Smith Virginia B. Gunnell Dr. and Mrs. Jerold J. Principato Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Arundel Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Hardaway III Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rathbun Mr. and Mrs. John L. Ayers James L. Hatcher Jr. Dr. and Mrs. F. Turner Reuter Mr. and Mrs. William Backer Ingrid M. Hinckley Mr. and Mrs. F. Turner Reuter Jr. Thomas M. Beach Jr. Mrs. George A. Horkan Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robin D. Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Zahar Ben-Dov Hon. Amo Houghton Jr. David and Catherine Rochester Elizabeth C. Bird Sam Huff B. Francis Saul II Magalen 0. Bryant Mr. and Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin III Mildred Fletcher Slater Elizabeth Busch Burke Mr. and Mrs. Manuel H. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. S. Bruce Smart Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Calder Sheila C. Johnson Joan Irvine Smith Mr. and Mrs. Rodion Cantacuzene Mr. and Mrs. James E. Lyons Robert H. Smith Edgar T. Cato Dr. and Mrs. Edward B. MacMahon William Steinkraus George M. Chester Jr. Peter Manigault Mead Stone Citigroup Private Bank Jacqueline Badger Mars George Strawbridge Jr. Jane Forbes Clark Mr. & Mrs. Charles T. Matheson SunTrust Mr. and Mrs. John Kent Cooke Joel McCleary Mr. and Mrs. Phillip S. Thomas Mr. and Mrs. W. Carey Crane III Mr. and Mrs. John K. Medica Dr. Mary Finlay Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Paul D. Cronin Mrs. Paul Mellon Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Mr. and Mrs. John H. Daniels Col. and Mrs. Robert W. Newton Laura van Roijen Paul L. Davies Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Q. O'Neill John von Stade Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence S. Davis Roberta Odell Virginia S. Warner Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Duke Barnaby A. Ohrstrom Mr. and Mrs. Gerald L. Warren Edward P. Evans Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Ohrstrom Margaret R. White P. Jay Fetner Mr. and Mrs. Clarke Ohrstrom Mr. and Mrs. S. Bonsal White Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Firestone George F. Ohrstrom Mrs. Charles S. Whitehouse Dielle and Charles Fleischmann Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Margaret H. Whitfield Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Fout Mrs. Ricard R. Ohrstrom Mrs. James Wiley Helen K. Groves Lorian Peralta-Ramos Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zakroff Mr. and Mrs. Ted Guarriello Nicole H. Perry John F. Zugschwert Bill H. Gunn Frederick H. Prince LIBRARY HOURS Monday: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Weekends by appointment NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 8 MIDDLEBURG VA THE NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY 102 The Plains Road Post Office Box 1335 Middleburg, Virginia 20118-1335 Return Service Requested