Currently on display at the National Sporting Library is an exhibit entitled, simply enough, Animals In Art. Perhaps the directors of the library thought it might have sounded too boastful to refer to it as "A Collection of Works by Some of the Most Respected 19th Century Artists of the British Sporting Art Genre." But they could have.

A generous friend of the Library was gently persuaded by Library Director Rebecca Tomlinson to loan a portion of her collection for the enjoyment of patrons and visitors to the Middleburg institution. The works on display reflect the collector's personal tastes as well as the input of those who gave her guidance as she built the collection, including Middleburg's own Gordon Barton.

It is a little deceptive to refer to the exhibit as one of purely sporting art. While the traditional fox hunting, steeple chasing and racing scenes are well-represented, so are images of animals of an entirely different sort. For instance, in the front foyer one finds two studies of a lion's head - powerful, majestic and appropriately terrifying - by William Huggins. In close proximity, as if for contrast, take note of Poodle Holding a Basket of Kittens, an oil on canvas by one J. Hartung. Then, in the Founders Room, look for a two paintings that are both cute and frightening, entitled Monkeys Riding Hounds (an image that would be sure to give our hounds nightmares).

Whimsical choices aside, one finds a gorgeous and varied collection of the more traditional sort. Included among the paintings, sculptures and drawings are works by the J.F. Herrings (Senior and Junior), Richard Ansdell, George Earl, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, Alfred Munnings, and John Ferneley – essentially a who's who of the genre from that time period. Most well represented is the work of J.F. Herring Sr. with a handful of paintings by his son J.F. Herring Jr.. The senior Herring began his career as a coach painter (a nice link to the Library which recently hosted the largest gathering of coaches and coach enthusiasts in the United States.)

Herring then moved on to become a coach driver, practicing his art in his spare time. Clearly his wealth of time spent around horses paid off in his artistic endeavors as we can see from his various paintings of barn yard and stable scenes.

Herring Senior's The Start of the Derby, an oil on canvas dated 1845, is proudly displayed above the fireplace of the Founder's Room. Though we must consider that it is the collector's least favorite piece, it is still an important work and one that draws in even the most lukewarm racing enthusiasts with its detailed depiction of the race start.

George Earl was an amateur artist who is mostly well known to those with an interest in dogs in art. Several of his dog portraits (Swimmer, an Otter Hound, The Clumber Spaniel "Bruce") make clear why the aristocratic class sought Earl's talent (and, subsequently, that of his daughter) to capture the likeness of their hunting companions. One piece that is slightly off-genre is Herbert Hasletine's Rala: A Polo Pony. Haseltine, is, of course, a 20th century American artist, making this contemporary sculpture slightly out of place in the context of the exhibition. Rala is gorgeous, as all of Haseltine's equestrian sculptures tend to be and looks not the least bit out place.

The exhibition is open through the end of summer. Visitors are welcome during Library hours Monday 1 to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 10 am. to 4 pm. For more information please call the National Sporting Library at (540) 687-6542.