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Michael GrimsdaleBritish Open Championship Gold Cup 1991 Polo Match1991
1991
$2,197.81
£1,600
€1,874.30
CA$3,019.47
A$3,282.77
CHF 1,740.53
MX$39,352.08
NOK 22,121.22
SEK 20,266.04
DKK 14,007.99
About the Item
Michael Grimsdale is a British painter known for his refined portrayals of horses, sporting subjects, and commissioned portraits. Born in London in 1936, Grimsdale spent much of his early life abroad, following his family’s military postings to Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa. These formative experiences, coupled with his early exposure to varied landscapes and cultures, would later inform the breadth and vitality of his artistic vision.
Educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Grimsdale initially trained for a military career before pursuing his true vocation as a painter. He later studied at St Martin’s School of Art in London, where he developed a disciplined, realist approach to painting grounded in keen observation and a deep respect for traditional technique. Periods of residence in Mexico and Australia broadened his visual vocabulary and deepened his sensitivity to light and colour.
Grimsdale established his reputation through a steady stream of private commissions—portraits of individuals, equestrian studies, and sporting scenes, especially polo—executed with precision and elegance. His celebrated work Galileo at Coolmore Stud exemplifies his command of equine anatomy and his ability to convey both the physical presence and inner nobility of his subjects. His paintings have been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Cowdray Park Polo Club, and galleries in London, Jersey, Sydney, and Houston, and they are represented in numerous private collections worldwide.
Working primarily in oil, Grimsdale paints in a realistic yet lyrical style, characterized by clarity of form, balanced composition, and a polished surface. His art stands firmly within the British tradition of sporting and animal painting, yet it also reflects a modern sensibility—an attention to atmosphere, light, and personality that transcends genre.
Now an established and widely collected artist, Michael Grimsdale continues to embody the enduring appeal of fine figurative painting in the contemporary era, blending technical mastery with the warmth and grace of lived experience.
This painting commemorates the 1991 edition of the British Open Championship Gold Cup, featuring a contested match between the team from Windsor Park and Ellerston White. The composition is structured around two distinct horizontal zones: the foreground sports the yellow‑toned playing field, while the background is defined by a dense band of green foliage, effectively eliminating visible sky and focusing attention on the match itself.
In the foreground, four central polo players mounted on their horses dominate the scene — two from each side — poised in mid‑motion, mallets raised or horse strides captured at the moment of engagement. Their uniforms reflect their team identities, and the artist conveys both the athletic intensity and the elegance of the sport through accurate equine anatomy, vivid movement, and balanced composition.
Behind them, in the mid‑background, appear two additional mounted riders whose horses are stationary or moving at a slower pace — spectators within the play or perhaps substitutes awaiting action — adding depth and narrative to the scene without detracting from the primary confrontation.
At the centre of the background fringe of green trees, a scoreboard is clearly visible:
Windsor Park: 8 – Ellerston White: 12
This score not only anchors the event historically but also adds dramatic tension: the viewer understands the outcome and can appreciate the moment captured is part of a larger contest.
Grimsdale’s palette is confident and refined. The distinction between the yellow field and the green foliage creates dual layers of colour and space, offering visual clarity and a sense of place. By omitting the sky, Grimsdale compresses the scene and intensifies focus on the human and equine figures, the match action, and the scoreboard – all within a disciplined, arena‑like frame.
Overall, the painting stands as a dynamic record of a major polo championship moment: a blend of sport, pageantry and fine equine portraiture, rendered with Michael Grimsdale’s typical clarity, compositional elegance and understated narrative power.
The players depicted in the painting are
P. Merlos
R. Matheus
A. Archibald
H R H Prince Charles
Signed lower right:
Grimsdale 91
- Creator:
- Creation Year:1991
- Dimensions:Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)Width: 24.02 in (61 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:GB
- Reference Number:Seller: B811stDibs: LU2841217157182
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