The Duke of Ancaster's bay stallion Blank, held by Old Parnam, his Groom

Painted in 1760, this portrait of the Duke of Ancaster's bay stallion 'Blank', held by his groom Old Parnam, at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire is an early masterwork from the period when Stubbs was establishing his reputation as England's foremost animal painter. Grimsthorpe Castle was home to the Bertie family, Dukes of Ancaster, one of the great sporting families of England, and a commission from such a patron marked Stubbs's arrival in the first tier of Georgian art patrons. The inclusion of the groom — named, not anonymous — gives the painting an unusual social specificity. 'Old Parnam' was evidently a known and valued individual within the Ancaster household, and his naming in the title treats him with a dignity uncommon for servant figures in aristocratic painting. The bay stallion 'Blank' was a racing horse of documented pedigree, and the painting served as both portrait and breeding record.

Oil on canvas. Stubbs places stallion and groom in a deliberate visual relationship: the groom's hand on the lead rein creates a compositional link between the two figures, and the human's smaller scale emphasises the horse's powerful bulk. The bay coat is painted in warm copper-brown with cool shadow glazes, capturing the characteristic gleam of a well-groomed thoroughbred.