The manliest art in the world is on sale this week at Sotheby's annual Sporting Art sale. Although not connected by period, style or form, these paintings and sculptures (a.k.a. a bronze rooster, racehorse, and a tiger attacking a tortoise) are unified in displaying country sports and wildlife. Many of these artists have attempted to capture action in motion with exciting results: horses' legs blur beneath them, dogs scamper or stare creepily at the viewer, and pirates sail a sea that looks like it's alive.

Works available at this year's auction include several paintings by Alfred Munnings, the famous English painter of horses, from Andrew Lloyd Webber's collection, as well as pieces from Rosa Bonheur who is awkwardly described in the press release as "the most famous woman painter of the first three quarters of the nineteenth century."

These paintings would be a great addition to any home, be it a rustic cabin, a ski lodge getaway, or a yacht. 

The auction will take place November 29th.

JAMES WILLIAM GILES
MR. J. A. SANDILAND'S KING CHARLES SPANIELS AT REST AND AT PLAY
signed J. Giles and dated 1842 (lower right)
oil on canvas
Est: 200,000 USD - 300,000 USD

SIR ALFRED J MUNNINGS, Silks and Satins of the Turf, o/b Original Frame
Est: 800,000 - 1,200,000 USD

Montague Dawson, The Brilliant Privateer the U.S.S. Rattlesnake, oil on canvas
Est: 400,000 - 500,000 USD

-- Brian Childs