Anne Bullen (1913-1963) Placemats, set of eight.

As matriarch of the well-known eventing family, and founder of the famous Catherston Stud, Anne Bullen’s depictions of horses and ponies capture the incredible movement and form of these magnificent creatures with which she was so familiar. Anne’s illustrative work can be remembered in the much-loved equestrian novels by authors such as the Pullein-Thomson sisters, Monica Edwards and Marjorie E. Procter. AVAILABLE, a rare set of eight table placemats featuring illustrations by Anne, these originate from a very large Wexford based estate and the family knew Anne personally having lived in Dorset for a great number of years prior to Wexford, Ireland. We believe these placemats have been launched under the direction of Anne’s Great-Grandson, artist, Jack Bullen. Anne Bullen’s illustration work went in tandem with her work on the stud. After training at the Academie Julien in Paris and at the Chelsea School of Art (and also running a circus with her siblings) her career in book illustration coincided with the birth of the classic pony story, one which is told from the point of view of the rider. The first book Anne Bullen illustrated was Joanna Cannan’s A Pony For Jean (John Lane, 1936), a funny and wry look at the acquisition of a pony and introduction to the countryside of an urban child. It was one of the first pony books to introduce what became the classic theme of the pony book: a girl does not have a pony, wants one, gets one, learns to ride and competes successfully. The Catherston Stud still continues. Anne Bullen died on 22nd December 1963 after fighting cancer for five years, and when her husband died in 1966, the Stud was taken over by Anne’s daughter, Jennie, and her husband Anthony Loriston-Clarke. The Stud now breeds horses rather than ponies, but most of their stallions are descended from the pony mares Anne and Jack Bullen bred. The Catherston Stud has since been sold after Jennie Loriston Clarke’s retirement. NATIONWIDE DELIVERY AVAILABLE. Regards