Where is this idyllic sun-dappled island? The great British art quiz

Tagg’s Island, 1920, by Alfred James Munnings. Photograph: Munnings Art Museum

This quiz is brought to you in collaboration with Art UK, the online home for the UK’s public art collections, showing art from more than 3,000 venues and by 45,000 artists. Each day, a different collection on Art UK will set the questions.

Today, our questions are set by the Munnings Art Museum, in the beautiful Dedham Vale on the Essex/Suffolk border. The museum is the former home of Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959), who is a major figure in the tradition of British horse painting and is celebrated for his depiction of English rural life and landscapes. The museum owns the largest collection of his paintings, drawings and sculpture.

You can see art from the collection on Art UK. Find out more on the Munnings Art Museum website here.

1. 

   Sir Alfred Munnings became president of the Royal Academy in 1944, at the peak of his career. In which regional art school did he receive his early training?

   1. Glasgow

   2. Brighton

   3. Norwich

   4. Nottingham

2. 

   Named after one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s generals, the white pony in this painting was much loved by Munnings and appears in many of his early paintings. What was the pony called?

   1. Topthorne

   2. Patrick

   3. Augereau

   4. Grey Tick

3. 

   To render the narrow branches of the trees in this picture, Munnings scratched into the thick layer of paint on top of the primed canvas. What is this technique called?

   1. Scumbling

   2. Scarify

   3. Scrawl

   4. Sgraffito

4. 

   Which island in the Thames, a short distance from Hampton Court Palace, provided the idyllic backdrop for this sun-filled painting by Munnings?

   1. Eel Pie Island

   2. Ham Island

   3. Tagg’s Island

   4. D’Oyly Carte Island

5. 

   One of the first racehorses that Munnings was commissioned to paint was Rich Gift, in 1921. Who was its owner?

   1. Lady Chichester

   2. Lady Torrington

   3. Lady Spencer

   4. Lady Munnings

6. 

   Munnings painted Madat Ali, an Indian soldier, in 1918. Why was Munnings deemed unfit to fight during the first world war?

   1. Blindness

   2. Deafness

   3. Spanish Flu

   4. Too short

7. 

   Who is the man standing on the right in this painting?

   1. Walter Sickert

   2. Harold Gilman

   3. Spencer Gore

   4. The artist

8. 

   Which noted horse racing fan is depicted in this study?

   1. Princess Margaret

   2. Queen Elizabeth II

   3. Wallis Simpson

   4. Lady Caroline Paget

Solutions

1:C - At the age of 14, in 1892, Munnings moved to Norwich. Despite working long days as a printers’ apprentice at Page Bros, he attended classes at Norwich School of Art in the evenings. Image: Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959), President of the Royal Academy, 1946, Edwin Whitney-Smith (1880-1952) © the copyright holder, The Munnings Art Museum, 2:C - Munnings bought Augereau from a dealer in Norwich, who commented that although the animal was no good harnessed or pulling carts he was "… a beautiful pony for a picture”. Patrick and Grey Tick also appear in Munnings’ paintings. Topthorne was Munnings’ first horse purchase; unruly, wilful and, in Munnings’ words, able to “tyrannise over his abject rider”. He was soon sold on. Image: Ponies in a Sandpit, Ringland Hills, Norfolk, 19th-20th century, Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959), the Munnings Art Museum, 3:D - A technique to heighten the effect of light falling upon the branches of the trees, Munnings’ lifelong preoccupation with capturing the effects of light in paintings meant that he often used the sgraffito technique. Image: A Pastoral Scene With Trees and a Stream in the Foreground, 19th-20th century, Alfred James Munnings (1848-1959), the Munnings Art Museum, 4:C - Painted in 1919, it depicts a joyous gathering of Munnings’ friends. Years later in his autobiography, Munnings nostalgically recalls: "Where are all the jolly crew-friends of my bachelor life who sat for it?” A smaller version is owned by the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. Image: Tagg’s Island, 1920, Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959), the Munnings Art Museum, 5:B - In 1917, Rich Gift ran nine times and won twice. Munnings described him as his first aristocratic visitor to Castle House. He made several studies and described Rich Gift as “not a great horse, but a good looker”. Image: Rich Gift, 19th-20th century, Alfred James Munnings (1878- 1959), the Munnings Art Museum, 6:A - At the start of the first world war, Munnings volunteered for military service. Due to blindness in his right eye – the result of an accident at the age of 20 – he was assigned to an administrative job processing tens of thousands of the animals as they headed to the frontlines in France. He was later employed as an official war artist to the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. Image: Madat Ali (Indian Soldier), Alfred James Munnings (1878– 1959), © the estate of Sir Alfred Munnings, 7:D - The painting includes a rare self portrait of Munnings alongside his wife on horseback. Throughout the history of art there has been a tradition of artists including an image of themselves in their own painting as a form of signature. Image: My Wife, My Horse and Myself, 19th-20th century, Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959), the Munnings Art Museum, 8:B - Noted for her love of horse racing, this study for a painting of Queen Elizabeth II with her racehorse Aureole also depicts her trainer. Aureole (1950–75) ran 14 times and won 11 races. He reached his peak as a four-year-old in 1954, when he won his last four races including the Coronation Cup at Epsom and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. After retiring from racing he was sent to stud, where he became a successful sire of winners. Image: Study of HM the Queen for Aureole, 19th-20th century, Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959), the Munnings Art Museum.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

   Thoroughbred

2. 0 and above.

   Non-runner

3. 3 and above.

   Boxed in