Conformation and the Parade Ring · The Conformation
Phaeton with a Pair of Cream Ponies and a Stable-Lad
George Stubbs, c. 1780–1784 · oil on panel
What it is
A pair of cream ponies stands harnessed to an empty phaeton while a stable-lad waits at their heads, painted by George Stubbs in oil on panel between 1780 and 1784.
Why it matters
Stubbs gave a working turnout the same patience he gave a champion: the ponies are the portrait, the carriage their frame.
What to notice
The two pale heads turn together toward the lad, and the dark wood behind them makes their coats glow.
A quiet hour before the drive.
Provenance
- Maker
- George Stubbs, c. 1780–1784
- Era
- The Georgian Turf (1750–1837)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on panel
- Made
- 1784
- Source
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection · via Wikimedia Commons
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the work’s own year of publication. Cleared by registry on 2026-11-01. Wikimedia Commons licence tag, read 2026-11-01: PD-Art|PD-old-100-1923|deathyear=1806. The maker died in 1806. Year for the gate, from the record: between 1780 and 1784; latest year used.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 27x41" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
More from the Stable Wall
Elsewhere in the family
- The Links — the other morning religion.
- Painted Lineage — the bloodline, beside the family line.
- Painted Earth — home ground as a period map.