Anna Sewell's Black Beauty
and artist Lucy Kemp-Welch

“If they strain me up tight, why, let 'em look out! I can't bear it, and I won't.” 
“My doctrine is this, that if we see 
cruelty or wrong that we have the 
power to stop, and do nothing, we 
make ourselves sharers in the guilt.” ​
“There is no religion without love, 
and people may talk as much as 
they like about their religion, but 
if it does not teach them to be good 
and kind to man and beast, 
it is all a sham.” ​
Anna Sewell's Black Beauty was and remains a great inspiration for animal rights. Published in 1877, Sewell only lived 5 months after its first appearance She was able to see it become a great success but would hardly have imagined that it would continue to touch hearts and souls over 140 years later.

In 1915, it was with a stroke of genius that Lucy Kemp Welch was engaged to illustrate a beautiful edition of the book. 
Lucy Kemp Welch was a famous painter of military horses who had attended Hubert von Herkomer's art school in 1891 and then took over its management in 1905, ultimately moving it to her own home and running it under her own name and specialty as the Kemp-Welch School of Animal Painting.
Her paintings of military horses are animated and affecting - she painted horses from life in training during World War I.
It was also during World War I that she provided paintings for the 1915 edition of Black Beauty. Her affectionate understanding of her subject shines through in these beautiful pictures.

Gifts from Lucy Kemp-Welch's paintings for Black Beauty are available here