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Zennor

“Zennor, on the north coast of Cornwall, not far from St. Ives, was at that time a primitive and un-spoilt village.

The Hunt by the Sea, 1913.

…The morning after our arrival, the humble Ned, to the surprise of Mrs. Griggs, appeared in white cord breeches and top boots, and at about 9.30 a.m., riding Grey Tick, with a mackintosh to hide his scarlet coat, he came towards me up the hill where I was already planted with easel, canvas and box. This was a start. What could be better?  …A grey sky; a boulder, strewn hill, with flat spaces of grey granite showing amongst the heather-clad sides sloping down to the moor below. Beyond that undulating moors, fields and stone walls. Farther away, Guava Cairn, grey against the yet paler grey of the faint distant horizon beyond Morvah, and through all this the Land’s End road curving away out of sight. Coming up the hill with hounds was Ned on the grey, the scarlet coat in low tones, the black velvet cap the darkest note of colour a splendid subject.

Golden Morn, The Zennor with Ned Osborne up on Grey Tick, 1913.
Huntsman with Hounds, Zennor Hill, Cornwall, 1913.

…Another picture, was of Ned on the grey at the top of Zennor Hill near a hoary pile of granite rocks, which those who know Zennor and the moors will easily recall if ever they read this. The picture was called “An April Fox”.The whip is stationed at the top of the hill, from where he can see the country below, while lower down the hill are figures on foot, holding their hats in the air and pointing. The whip looks away into the country and the mare stands like a statue, her ears pricked. I worked looking into the April sunlight, which lit the back, loins and mane of the mare, surrounding Ned’s coat with a flaming, scarlet light.”

Sir Alfred Munnings, An Artist’s Life, 1950.

An April Fox, Zennor Hill, Cornwall. 1913.
Hunting Morning, 1913.
Ned Osborne on Grey Tick, Zennor, c1913.