Munnings moved to Castle House, Dedham in 1919 and soon developed a friendship with Frank Girling, a local farmer and landowner who was then living at New House Farm, Little Bromley about five miles distance from Dedham. Girling had a strong interest in horses, photography and art, and therefore it seemed natural that the two men would develop a rapport. Girling would often drive Munnings to Newmarket to watch the horses exercising.

This charming sketch of cattle near the nearby village of Stoke-by-Nayland was given to Girling by Munnings in 1947. The picture forms part of a series of cattle studies by Munnings who really enjoyed painting cows as they proved rather less lively than horses. He even purchased a cow when he lived in Cornwall before the First World War. A similar study is in the collection of The Munnings Art Museum, and there are records of four Stour Valley landscape studies, on a similar small scale, that Munnings sold to Lord Tollemache in 1957. One is of cattle, and another just titled Thorington Street. Thorington Street was on Munnings' preferred route to Newmarket, and he would often stop and take plein air sketches of the landscape on route

Over the years Frank Girling built up a strong collection of Modern British art including works by Augustus John, Henry Lamb, Cedric Morris, Walter Sickert, Philip Wilson Steer as well as by Munnings, and after his death part of the collection was donated to The Minories in Colchester. Girling and Munnings were regular correspondents and much of their correspondence has since been donated to The Munnings Art Museum.

We are grateful to the Curatorial staff at The Munnings Art Museum for their assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.