Paul Mellon was a great admirer of works of art that showcase an artist's direct experience of his or her subject because it is often the transitory experiences that, although not momentous occasions, are for many, the very essence of sport and country life.

It is for that reason that the "Scraps: British Sporting Drawings from the Paul Mellon Collection" exhibition will bring such pleasure and humor to visitors to The National Sporting Museum in Middleburg, Virginia.

The title, taken from Henry Alken's series of drawings and prints, accurately depicts the varied and often humorous episodes of sporting and country life. Those who commissioned paintings often conformed to a formal vision of sport that reflected established traditions and motifs.

This exhibition, however, celebrates emotional drawings that illustrate a greater personal freedom artists were allowed that so accurately captured visions of the animals, sport, and country pursuits they encountered and observed directly.

The works in this exhibition are drawn entirely from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. As noted in Mellon's autobiography, "Preliminary drawings or sketches in oil or pastel often have an immediacy and emotional appeal far greater than the final canvas."

This exhibition was organized and is shown in Middleburg by the courtesy of the VMFA.

For more information about the "Scraps" exhibition on view through June 30, 2012, please visit www.nsl.org. Museum hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm; Sunday, noon – 4:00 pm.