(Above) A whippet head by York-based sculptor Sally Arnup stars in British Sporting Art. Image © The Bowes Museum

Exhibition: British Sporting Art, The Bowes Museum, County Durham, until October 10 2010

Bowes Museum founder John Bowes was a man with many strings to his bow.

Born into a wealthy coal mining dynasty to an Earl, he was educated at Eton and Cambridge’s Trinity College, was a Liberal MP and Sheriff of Durham, married a mistress he met in Paris and founded the Museum itself in 1869.

One pastime visitors might know less about is Bowes' legacy on the racecourse, breeding multiple winners of the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby and the Triple Crown, the pinnacle of thoroughbred racing.

George Stubbs, Fighting Stallions (1791). The British Sporting Art Trust. The Alfred Gates Bequest

One of his most successful runners, Cotherstone, is captured by JF Herring in this show, having been bought at a Christie’s auction in New York four years ago. Beeswing, a fellow Bowes product who recorded 51 wins from 64 races, is also depicted by John Ferneley, accompanied by scenes from sports such as boxing and hunting.

Artists include the likes of George Stubbs, who achieved critical acclaim at the Royal Academy during the "golden age" of sporting artists in the 18th century, and Sir Alfred Munnings.

This summer is also the first chance to see the exquisite new British Decorative Arts and Fashion and Textile Galleries at the Museum, featuring domestic design through the ages and dresses, silks, tapestries, embroidery, lace and quilts from 500 years of European creations.

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