Containing portraits of 149 people, this picture is what is known as a ‘subscription painting’, meaning that everyone included in the painting has paid to be included, the more they paid, the more prominent their position in the painting.

A notice in the local newspaper at the time stated that the picture was going to be painted, and that it would “contain the portraits of all the leading owners, breeders, and trainers as well as many of the frequenters of this busy scene, where may be found, year by year, a gathering of every one of note connected with horses.”

The picture is a who’s who of everyone of importance associated with racing at that time, and includes figures like the Earl of Scarborough and the Earl and Countess of Zetland.

Doncaster is well known for its wonderful market, and has one of the largest markets in the north of England.
This atmospheric painting by Lionel Townsend Crawshaw shows the market place at a time when there was still a livestock market in the town. The artist captures the scene in the morning, with the warm sun casting long shadows, and the famers gathering to catch up on the latest news before the business of the day begins.
Over the scene towers St George’s Church, a fine example of Victorian Gothic architecture, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
Lionel Townsend Crawshaw was born in Warmsworth near Doncaster, and after studying in Germany and Paris settled in Whitby where he was associated with the Staithes Group of artists.

Some of the most famous locomotives in the history of the railways were built at the Doncaster Locomotive Works, including Flying Scotsman, Mallard and Cock of the North. In this painting the artist Terence Cuneo shows work going on in the Crimpsall Paint Shop, where two locomotives are receiving their final coats of paint before being put back into service.
One locomotive is named after Sir Ronald Matthews who was Chairman of London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at the time, while the other, Owen Tudor, was the last locomotive to be built by LNER before the nationalisation of the railways on the 1st January 1948.
Cuneo was commissioned to paint the picture by LNER in 1947, as a design for a poster to promote their services.

Nina Hamnett (1890-1956) was a Welsh artist and writer, who became known as the ‘Queen of Bohemia’ for her flamboyant lifestyle.
This stylish portrait was painted by Hamnett during her time in Paris, were she knew Modigliani, Picasso and Jean Cocteau. She describes it in her autobiography ‘Flaming Torso’ as one of her best portraits.
The sitter Rupert Doone (1903–1966) was an English dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and teacher. During his time in Paris, where he danced for the Ballet Russe, he worked as an artist’s model, including at the Academy Colorossi, where this picture was created.
The portrait was purchased by Sir Edward Marsh in 1926, and came to Doncaster after Marsh’s death through the Contemporary Art Society.

Early on in his short career the French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska made a number of sculptures in low relief, some of which were intended to be coloured and lit from behind.
This piece, in Seravezza Marble, is based on a drawing that Gaudier made at a life class he attended in London.
This piece was originally owned by H.S. Ede (1885-1990), who was a collector and promoter of modern art in Great Britain during the early years of the 20th century. Ede’s collection subsequently formed the basis of the collection at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge.
Henri Gaudier was born near Orleans in France, and it was there that he began his working life as a sculptor. In 1910, while living in Paris, he met his Polish partner Sophie Brzeska.