Whistlejacket, a life size oil painting of a racehorse by George Stubbs, has been lent to York Art Gallery by the National Gallery as the centrepiece in the exhibition Stubbs and Whistlejacket in York, which opens on Saturday April 26 2008.

The exhibition includes other significant Stubbs works and coincides with the racing season at York Racecourse, where Whistlejacket won his most famous race nearly 250 years ago.

“You can’t help but be inspired by Whistlejacket; its sheer size and Stubbs’ brilliant attention to detail sets it aside as one of the most special works by a British artist,” said Jennifer Alexander, assistant curator of art at York Art Gallery. “We are delighted that it is coming to York, the city where Whistlejacket made his name, especially during the racing season.”

“The piece on its own is magnificent, but together with the other works from our collection and loans from the likes of the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy, the exhibition will be very special indeed.”

The huge and impressive picture was painted around 1762 for the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Whistlejacket’s owner and a great patron of Stubbs. It is thought that Rockingham paid 60 guineas for the portrait.

Stubbs spent many years living in York, even marrying in the city. The exhibition, which runs until August 31 2008, will also include works that show York and the racecourse as it would have been in Stubbs’ time.