A Morning at Tattersall's
Artist: Robert Polhill Bevan (British, 1865–1925)
Date: 1921
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, United States
Description
Horses were a central part of daily life in Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Bevan depicted scenes of horse auctions and working horses to show how different social classes interacted. He included visual symbols, such as different hats and clothing, to suggest social identity, from city professionals to working-class grooms. Bevan’s paintings capture a world on the brink of change as cars began to replace animals.











