A mural celebrating Samuel Smith’s Brewery’s iconic shire horses has been painted on a boarded-up shop front close to its headquarters in Tadcaster.
The artwork sits in the shadow of the brewery and the Angel and White Horse Inn – where the shire horses are stabled and remain one of town’s familiar sights.
Local artist Claire Bentley-Smith said she created the mural as a tribute to the brewery’s owner, the late Humphrey Smith, and to the animals that deliver beer around the town.
She added: “I’m lucky enough that the shire horses from the brewery come past my house every morning, and as an equestrian artist I’ve always found that incredibly inspiring.”
Called Prince and Falcon, the brewery’s horses are used to deliver beer to the local pubs in and around Tadcaster five days a week.
Bentley-Smith said she decided to paint the mural of the the animals after seeing the empty shop with boarded up windows on Kirkgate.
The painter, who has worked as a commercial artist in Leeds for the past 25 years, said the mural has become a talking point for the town.
“It’s sort of inspired the whole town to talk about how they feel about the loss of Humphrey Smith,” she said.