‘After The Race’, A Silvered Bronze Equestrian Group Cast By Elkington & Co, Birmingham

Description

John Willis-Good, British (1845 – 1879)
‘After The Race’.

A Silvered Bronze Equestrian Group Cast By Elkington & Co, Birmingham.

Depicting a racehorse with jockey up, at the dynamic conclusion of a race, standing on a grassy naturalistic base and raised on a granite painted slate base.

Signed to the cast ‘J.Willis Good 1875’ and stamped ‘Elkington & Co’ to the edge of the base.

England, Circa 1875.

Capturing a moment of intensity at the end of a race, the jockey and his horse are shown in a dynamic pose that conveys both physical strain and emotional connection. With striking anatomical precision, especially in the horse’s musculature and stance, Willis-Good suspends a fleeting moment of motion, highlighting the bond between rider and horse and the enduring nobility of sport.

Fascinated by the contrasting emotional and physical narratives, Willis-Good revisited the subject of before and after the race in several models, often conceived as pendant works. A related group, also titled ‘After the Race’, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1873 (Exhib. No. 1500). It depicts an exhausted racehorse with its head lowered, the jockey standing with hands on hips, as the groom leads them toward the winner’s enclosure. This model is illustrated by Jane Horswell in Les Animaliers (Antique Collectors Club, Suffolk, 1971, p. 287), where she describes it as “a fine composition, excellent subject matter.”

The best-known of Willis-Good’s rare models were cast by Elkington & Co, as in the present example, their scarcity suggesting that they were individually commissioned rather than commercially edited. A patinated bronze version can be found in the Paul Mellon Collection, Yale Center for British Art, (Acc. No. B2001.2.301).

John Willis-Good, ‘After The race’, Patinated Bronze Sculpture, Mellon Collection, Yale Center for British Art, (Acc. No. B2001.2.301)