The Royal Collection holds an important group of paintings by George Stubbs. All of them were acquired by George IV when Prince of Wales and all (with the exception of RCIN 400512) were sent in 1822 from Carlton House to the King’s Lodge (later Royal Lodge) in Windsor Great Park, which presumably provided an appropriate setting for sporting paintings.

This portrait of Sir Sidney Medows (also spelt Meadows, 1701-92) was painted, perhaps for the sitter, in 1778 and acquired by George IV in 1818. A Member of Parliament and Knight Marshal of the King's Household during the reign of George II and George III, Sir Sidney was of Conholt Park, Wiltshire, which is possibly the setting for this painting. Sir Sidney is shown here mounted on a white horse, wearing riding breeches and a green frock coat with a black tricorne hat.

The horse may be one of the Hanoverian Creams, a breed kept at the Royal Mews during the 18th century famed for its pale, but not albino, coat. Eight Cream stallions would pull the Gold State Coach after its creation, and the horses were reserved for the particular use of the monarch. Sir Sidney’s brother, Philip Medows (1708-81), who was appointed Deputy Ranger of Richmond Park in 1755 and moved into Old Lodge in 1761, is recorded as schooling each of the Creams by turn on a regular basis. The breed died out in the 20th century.