Page 34 - OSG: Marcus Hodge: 2024
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Polo, Then & Now, oil on canvas, 140 x 320 cm
Polo, Then & Now
This stunning piece, commissioned by the British Sporting Art Trust for the National
Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, spans over three metres of canvas and depicts
the fascinating history of polo. On the left of the painting, Marcus features the polo
ground of Manipur in Northwestern India on the boarder of Myanmar, where the sport
was first formalised, and on the right the Gold Cup at Cowdray Park; the origin and
legacy of the sport united by the grey horse at the centre of the piece. A handwritten
summary of polo’s complex history anchors the composition at the base of the work,
providing the viewer with both a textual and visual understanding of the historic sport.
