Thu, 29/04/2021 - 11:35
Sarah has been specially selected by a leading animal charity to help celebrate its 135th Anniversary.
The Horse Trust commissioned Sarah Perkins Art to create a portrait of three of its most famous horses.
The Horse Trust - based in Speen, Buckinghamshire - was founded in 1886 and is the oldest horse charity in the world. It is committed to providing the best possible retirement and respite care for horses and ponies that served in the police and military. They also provide sanctuary for the horses, ponies and donkeys who experienced cruelty and neglect.
Sarah Perkins, who specialises in animal art and pet portraits, was chosen for the momentous project after initially reaching out to work with the charity. This comes less than six months after she was commissioned by The Blues and Royals Association to design their 2020 Christmas card, which sold over 11,000 copies and raised more than £6,000 for the veteran’s charity. Her work for this was recently recognised by the Derby Mainframe Awards, where she was runner- up for ‘Creativity for Good’.
Sarah’s ‘Horse Trust Legends’ artwork, features the heads of three famous horses from the charity’s history. The late Sefton, a British Army horse, who served for 17 years and survived the Hyde park bombings has been honoured within the piece. Met Police horse, Boris - who was awarded the PDSA’s order of Merit for showing outstanding bravery during the Tottenham riots - and Viscount, the longest serving military horse in history, has also been included.
Following its unveiling, the artwork has been turned into limited edition prints signed by Sarah. There are 250 of the prints available in both A4 and A3, with 100% of the profits being donated to the charity. The original artwork (measuring 61cm x 45cm) will be sold framed via Sarah's online shop, with 25% of profits also being donated.
Sarah served with the Derbyshire Police Service for 21 years before having to retire early due to medical reasons so this is a cause close to her heart. She had always loved art and so picked up the paintbrush again and launched Sarah Perkins Art in September 2018. Sarah is committed to using her business as a force for good, regularly offering her work to raise money for worthy causes. Her commission for The Horse Trust is yet another example of this.
Commenting on the project, Sarah said: “I’m thrilled to have been commissioned to create such a meaningful piece of art for The Horse Trust. After serving in the police for over 20 years, I know just how vital horses are to the force, so I’m excited to be honouring them within this piece and helping to raise money for a very special cause.”
Alice Morgan, director of fundraising at The Horse Trust, commented: “We’re delighted to have Sarah creating our ‘Horse Trust Legends’ artwork for our 135th anniversary. We work hard to make sure that our hard-working equine public servants are well-looked after in their retirement, and the funds raised from this will help us to continue our work.”
The original artwork is available to purchase from Sarah's website, and the limited edition prints of the piece are available via the Horse Trust and retail from £49.50.