The Charleston Collects series at the Gibbes Museum of Art highlights significant art collections formed by Lowcountry residents. This exhibition features exceptional British sporting art paintings from the private collection of Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Martha Penkhus.

The couple began collecting in 1986 when they purchased a portrait of the famed 19th-century English racing horse Cotherstone, painted by John Frederick Herring Sr. Their passion for British sporting art and culture blossomed, taking them on many unexpected adventures that have led them to build a first-rate collection of animal and sporting paintings. The works give a glimpses into the English countryside, its occupants, and their activities from 1800 to the present. The collection includes paintings by notable English sporting painters including Frederick Herring Sr., James Ward, and Sir Alfred Munnings.

A Day in June, 1860, by Marie Rosalie Bonheur (French, 1822 – 1899); Oil on canvas; 23 ¼ x 34 inches; Image courtesy of Penkhus Collection

Young Herdsman at Mendham, 1910, by Sir Alfred Munnings (British, 1878 – 1959); Oil on canvas; 28 ¼ x 36 inches; Image courtesy of Penkhus Collection

Cotherstone, 1843, by John Frederick Herring, Sr. (British, 1795 – 1865); Oil on canvas; 13 ½ x 17 ½ inches; Image courtesy of Penkhus Collection

Jogging Home, c. 1920, by John Sanderson Wells (British, 1872 – 1943); Oil on canvas; 24 x 16 inches; Image courtesy of Penkhus Collection

An Apple for “Tomtit”, 1879, by Edmund Havell, Jr. (British, 1819 – 1894); Oil on canvas; 37 ½ x 50 inches; Image courtesy of Penkhus Collection