ONE winter’s evening in the 1920s, as Raoul Millais hacked home from a day with the Beaufort, he found himself riding alongside LieutenantColonel Guy Hanmer.
“You the painter fellow?” Guy asked.
Raoul confirmed that he was. They clopped along in silence for a couple of minutes while the Colonel digested this, then he declared, “You must agree, old boy, it’s damned odd for a fellow to paint.”
It would have been odd if Raoul Millais hadn’t painted. His grandfather was John Everett Millais, who co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and went on to be one of the most successful artists of the Victorian age. Everett Millais was also a keen rider to hounds, who hunted extensively in the Shires in the company of his good friend, the cartoonist John Leech.
Everett’s son John Guille Millais inherited both his father’s artistic flair and his passion for the outdoors. Soldier, travel writer, naturalist and big game hunter, he also established a reputation as one of the leading wildlife illustrators of the day.
Raoul was John Guille’s third child, born in Sussex in 1901 at the dawn of the Edwardian era. He slipped effortlessly into the Millais groove of artist and sportsman from earliest childhood. His nanny found him impossible to control and would lock him in an attic box room, where he kept himself amused by drawing on the pink plaster walls with crayons he smuggled into his cell.
Esta historia es de la edición May 16, 2024 de Horse & Hound.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 16, 2024 de Horse & Hound.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Jappeloup
A small horse who looked like two halves put together’, Jappeloup nonetheless proved to have a big heart and a huge talent”.
Collett takes two
A bumper fixture hosts 12 intermediate and open intermediate sections, as Paris contenders blow away the cobwebs
Capitalise on buyers' remorse
Equestrian properties might be in short supply, but prices are back to normal after the Covid frenzy as the capital lures buyers again
Games making
Equestrianism will be in the thick of the action in Paris, but the logistics of hosting Olympics in the heart of an iconic city are a challenge. Kate Johnson asks organisers, riders and grooms for their memories of urban Olympic sites
On the bench
Being picked as the \"fourth man\" to support a three-man Olympic team, ready to step in at any moment in the competition, requires a resilient and unflinchingly sportsmanlike mindset.
A brush with the Games
Want to know what really goes into preparing an Olympic campaign? Bethany Stone speaks to top industry grooms with star-studded CVs for the scoop
One moment in time
The Olympics is the zenith of an athlete's career but precious few scale those giddy heights. Sue Polley asks four British Olympians about their most memorable experiences
'Pride? I just felt relief
Blyth Tait on jumping barn roofs, \"freezing\" in the Atlanta heat and the day his eight-year-old prodigy won Olympic gold
Mental health advocate
Harry Dunlop retired from training in 2022, having held his licence for 16 years. He founded the Trainer Support Network in 2023
Hugo Simon
The six-time Olympian tells Bernard Bale about his \"extraterrestrial\" string of horses, changing nationality and his success at the boycotted Games