George Stubbs: ‘all done from Nature’ presents the first significant overview of this renowned eighteenth century artist-scientist in Britain for more than 30 years. The exhibition brings together 80 paintings, drawings and publications from the National Gallery’s life-size portrait of the stallion Whistlejacket to pieces never previously seen in public.

Alongside his celebrated paintings of horses are some of the first credible paintings of ‘exotic’ animals in Western art, including a rhinoceros, moose, cheetahs and many others. In order to understand the natural world, Stubbs taught himself anatomy and produced forensic drawings of humans and animals at different stages of dissection. These are presented in the exhibition alongside the finished paintings, and the skeleton of the greatest ever racehorse, Eclipse.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated publication that includes new writings and extensive catalogue entries.

A version of the show will tour to the Mauritshuis in The Hague where it will be the first-ever exhibition on the artist in the Netherlands.

Throughout the exhibition we are offering free tours with admission on the following dates:

October: 15th, 19th and 29th

November: 2nd, 12th, 16th, 26th and 30th

December: 3rd, 10th, 14th and 17th

January: 4th, 7th, 11th, 14th, 18th, 21st and 26th

Tours begin at 2pm and are volunteer led. No additional booking is required, meet outside exhibition entrance. 

Admission prices

Day tickets available at our information desk.

For advance tickets call 01908 676900.

MK Gallery members: FREE

Adult: £9.35 with Gift Aid / £8.50 standard
Concessions (over 65s*, group bookings of 10 or more): £8.25 with Gift Aid / 7.50 standard
Under 26s: Free
Local residents*: Free every Tuesday
Art Fund : FREE

*Please provide valid ID on arrival. For the local residents offer please show photo ID and proof of residence at the Information Desk. Postcodes for free resident entry on Tuesdays: MK1, MK2, MK3, MK4, MK5, MK6, MK7, MK8, MK9, MK10, MK11, MK12, MK13, MK14, MK15, MK16, MK17, MK19, MK43, MK46, MK77

For group bookings please contact 01908 676 900.

Free tickets cannot be pre-booked.

We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the George Stubbs: 'all done from Nature' Circle of Friends, including David and Jennifer Adams, George and Kirsty Anson, The British Sporting Art Trust, Robert and Felicity Waley-Cohen, Charles and Jane Whitbread and those who wish to remain anonymous.

The exhibition has been funded through a grant from the Weston Loan Programme - a scheme created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund to directly fund and empower regional and smaller local authority museums to borrow major works or collections of art from the UK’s national museums and galleries