Art Review When George Stubbs paints a horse, it comes alive. April 22, 2026 — 3 min read George Stubbs, "Whistlejacket" (circa 1762) (all photos courtesy the National Gallery, London) LONDON — What’s in a name? "Whistlejacket" is a magnificent, rampant beast. Where to find him, though? Start at the Western (Sainsbury Wing) end of the long corridor that takes you through and past much of the long history of the great paintings in the possession of London’s National Gallery.  The sightline is arrow-direct, through magnificent doors, framed in marble the color of a rich, mottled madder. Look directly ahead of you, through room after room after room. And there, at last, you will find him, facing you — in fact, his pose is side-on, though his head is twisted to catch the bright white of his eye, on the wall of Gallery 34, reared up in all his fiercesome equine magnificence, "Whistlejacket," that masterpiece of a painting by a man named George Stubbs , the son of a currier, born in Liverpool.…