Anyone know the artist/title of this painting?

[spacedonkey]

I know it's a long shot, but in one of the main galleries there is a Victorian painting depicting a scene of a crowd at a racecourse. It is well known for a couple of things - first that it depicts the working classes at play, and second that the artist subscribed to eugenic-type beliefs in the shape of the skull representing certain characteristics.

Anyone know? Without the name of the artist or picture I'm clutching at straws!

can you remember which gallery?

Nope, I think it might've been Tate Britain, but searching on their website on things like "racecourse" turns up nothing. I saw it on TV a couple of months ago.

Derby Day, I think is it in Bimringham

will tell you the artist in a mnute

W P Frith

HURRAH! thank yoU!

here?

Derby Day by Frith
Frith was a proponent of phrenology and one of the puropses of the painting was to show all the classes together (as could only happen at the races) to ilustrate the differnce between the refined, educated classes and the lower, criminal classes. You could tell whether a person was 'refined' or 'degenerate' by looking at their facial features. Apparently.

Thank you so much, I would never have remembered that without your help!

no it's at the tate

Theres a prep sketch for it at the V&A if thats any help. here

for the sake of completeness here is the tate link