• Please be aware of the personal space of others and maintain good hygiene during your visit

• If you feel unwell then consider visiting at another time

• Access to the first floor galleries is by stairs only

• Please do not take photographs in the museum or studio

• Please do not bring your dog into the museum or studio and keep it on a lead in the grounds

• Please do not smoke anywhere in the museum, studio and grounds

• Please do not play ball or throwing games on the lawn

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In 1892, aged fourteen, Alfred Munnings moved from his home village of Mendham in Suffolk to the city of Norwich. He was apprenticed to the lithographic printers Page Bros. & Co., Ltd. where he learnt to design advertisements and posters. During the 1890s Munnings undertook work for large local companies such as Colman’s Mustard and Caley’s Crackers and Chocolates.

This season the museum presents a vibrant display of this lesser known commercial work produced by Munnings during his teenage years which demonstrates his ability to capture the popular aesthetic of the belle epoque.

Alfred Munnings is considered to be a major figure in the great tradition of British horse painting and is celebrated for his depiction of English rural life and landscapes. The museum’s carefully curated displays ensure that there is always a fully representative selection of his art on display, ranging from his childhood drawings to last works. Visitors to the museum have the opportunity to experience Munnings’ passion for the rural traditions and landscapes of East Anglia and Cornwall which he captured on canvas and develop an understanding of the talent and skill he used to convey the explosive energy of the racing scenes for which he is now globally renowned.

Throughout the rooms of the museum an annual changing selection of 150 pictures from the museum’s own large collection, supplemented by carefully chosen loan pictures, is hung chronologically so that visitors can better understand the life and work of the artist. The furniture, objects and personal items belonging to Sir Alfred and Lady Munnings remain in situ and the museum welcomes visitors to sit and enjoy the ambience of their home.

In the garden stands Munnings’ former studio which houses his painting materials and props.

This year the studio is hosting a display of studies for, and the painting, Happy Days, Violet Munnings Riding on Exmoor. Studies date from the 1920s to 1950s as Munnings worked and reworked this large picture which was never completely finished.

When Alfred Munnings married his second wife Violet in April 1920 his reputation as a notable equestrian portraitist was flourishing. As a result of this he was frequently away from home for extended periods and he wrote home to his new wife of these experiences.

In 2021 the museum’s special exhibition showcases paintings from the early 1920s alongside original correspondence from that time.

Buy Yours With Love, AJ >>

In 2020 and 2021 the studio is hosted “Constable’s Country” a display featuring 30 studies and finished paintings by Alfred Munnings of the Dedham Vale, Stour Valley and beyond to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

In 1918 Alfred Munnings was appointed as a war artist in France for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade and later for the Canadian Forestry Corps. At the war’s end his paintings from France were bought by the Canadian government and are now in the collection of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

In the centenary year of their first exhibition at the Royal Academy, London in 1919, the Munnings Art Museum is privileged to have on loan from Canada forty-one of these war paintings. The vibrant colours and painterly style of these works is a striking contrast to the familiar black and white images of World War I. It is a rare opportunity to see these works, alongside sketches and paintings from The Munnings Art Museum’s own collection.

Munnings’ war works were much admired at the time and proved to be pivotal in the development of his career, helping to transform him from a successful provincial artist to one of international renown.

In his later life Sir Alfred Munnings reflected “I have often wondered had there been no 1914-18 war whether painting people on horseback would have absorbed the greater part of my efforts in the years that followed”.

The exhibition has been developed by the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, in partnership with The Munnings Art Museum and generously supported by The Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation.

In the garden, visitors will find Munnings’ studio which houses his painting materials and props. This season the studio is hosting “Painting Winners” a display featuring 30 studies and finished paintings from the racecourses at Epsom and Newmarket by Sir Alfred Munnings.

Adjoining the studio is the Café serving delicious homemade treats. The museum shop has a range of books, unique gifts and souvenirs.

A selection of contemporary paintings by some of the UK and Ireland’s leading equestrian and plein air painters. Inspired by the First World War paintings of Sir Alfred Munnings and available to buy.

Read more about the artists and their work >>