Munnings print goes under the hammer

A series of equestrian treasures will be up for auction in Cambridge on 21-22 April.

The collection belonging to Anne Hammond includes a one-off artist’s proof of the racehorse Son-in-Law by Sir Alfred Munnings, entitled Son-in-Law, the Racehorse, with his Groom, and Trainer, Reg Day.

“I schooled a horse once for Lady Munnings,” explains Miss Hammond. “She was a brown mare, and was related to Son-in-Law, indeed I think she was by Son-in-Law. As an expression of gratitude, Alfred Munnings gave me the proof.”

Anne Hammond first got to know Munnings when her father, Percy Hammond, ran a livery yard in Newmarket. Munnings kept his model horse, a grey mare, at the yard when he was in the area, and occasionally corresponded with Miss Hammond.

A letter from Alfred Munnings to Miss Hammond will be sold with the Son-in-Law print. In this correspondence, Munnings discusses the relative merits of a fat but pretty pony called Misty.

The collection also includes an oil painting by Doris Zinkeisen, who was a close acquaintance of Miss Hammond’s. Entitled The Duchess of Montagu with her Black Page and two Greyhounds in a Landscape, the painting came into Miss Hammond’s possession because of her association with both Anna and Doris Zinkeisen, who rode out regularly with Percy Hammond.

Anne Hammond is most renowned for producing show ponies and breeding Connemaras. She trained with Tony Collings at Porlock Vale when he first started it up after the war, and she then went on to run a riding school and stud at Stetchworth for 27 years.

Now married to Frank Rawlinson, Anne has retained the nucleus of her breeding stock. She explains why she is selling this delightful collection of artwork: “I want someone to cherish these pieces. They have afforded me a huge amount of pleasure, and now I feel that the time has come to allow someone else that pleasure.”

For information about the fine art sale on 21-22 April, contact Cheffins (tel: 01223 213343).