Museum Exhibition Spotlight The Paintings of Richard Stone Reeves

The Art of the Thoroughbred

Richard Stone Reeves captured the essence of the thoroughbred during an iconic career as one of racing’s most revered artists

BY EDWARD L. BOWEN

Chairman, Hall of Fame Nominating Committee

Opposite page: One Count, Eddie Arcaro up, won the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes in 1952 en route to Horse of the Year honors. Above: Hall of Fame member Dr. Fager, winner of 18 of 22 career starts, was named Horse of the Year in 1968.

Richard Stone Reeves often reminisced about watching War Admiral in the Belmont Stakes of 1937 as a pivotal moment in his career. The then 17-year-old already had developed a passion for art — and an appreciation for the horse — when he witnessed War Admiral’s historic performance. Reeves was touched by the courage and resilience of the thoroughbred. The little champion stumbled at the start, injured a hoof, and trailed blood for the entire 1½ miles. Yet he won the longest of America’s classic races, and completed the Triple Crown. The phrase “Red Badge of Courage” thereafter had added meaning for young Reeves.

Reeves expressed appreciation for many individuals, moments, and opportunities as he looked back on his career in the 1989 volume Legends: The Art of Richard Stone Reeves (Oxmoor House). Pivotal was the acceptance of his parents in supporting his somewhat chancy goal of a career as an artist as compared to, as he put it, “a direction toward a responsible career in business.” That the family was related to successful artist Thomas Sully was a nice connection, but not a meal ticket.

He also appreciated the tangents of life which gave his career impetus after art school at Syracuse University. When World War II shaped his and millions of other young men’s immediate ambitions and responsibilities, Reeves found himself in China involved with Naval Intelligence. Even in war, responsibilities were not always urgent, and he filled idle hours drawing local citizens. This came to the attention of a fellow serviceman who urged him to make contact back home after the War. This fellow was none other than an executive at Roosevelt Raceway, a major harness track in New York.

Reeves knew standardbreds, but preferred thoroughbreds, and his first assignment after the war drew attention of both sporting industries. A major break was a commission to paint Armed, as the newly named 1947 Horse of the Year, for Daily Racing Form. A friendship brought that painting to the attention of Life magazine, which printed the portrait in an issue.

Right: Richard Stone Reeves visits with Secretariat at Claiborne Farm, 1989. Below: Hall of Fame member Nashua, the 1955 Horse of the Year, with trainer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons and jockey Eddie Arcaro from a Reeves painting in the Museum Collection. Opposite page top: Hall of Fame member Ruffian, a two-time Eclipse Award winner. Opposite page bottom: Hall of Fame member Tom Fool, the 1953 Horse of the Year and winner of 21 of his 30 career starts.

These were early steps which were followed by a succession of large advances recognizing his talent for detail, in equine portraiture as well as scenes. Reeves became arguably the best-known equine portraitist in North America, and his fame spread overseas. It became a virtual routine, he explained to us, that whenever His Highness the Aga Khan raced a new classic winner in Europe, Reeves would soon be on his way overseas. Indicative of the prolonged quality of the Aga Khan’s breeding operation, he became identified as the owner of the largest personal collection of paintings by Reeves.

In the manner of the top echelons of thoroughbred breeding, various other clients also produced sequences of major horses. This led to patterns of painting various horses of related pedigrees for successful owners and families of long standing. The star horses of one year gave rise to another generation of excellence.

One commission of particular note resulted from Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps’ idea for a single canvas depicting the Grade 1 winners raced by his father, Ogden Phipps, in the remarkable 1988 season. There were five of them when the commission was made, including Hall of Famers

Opposite page top: Hall of Fame member Shuvee was named Champion Older Female in 1970 and 1971. Opposite page bottom: Mill Reef, who raced for Paul Mellon, was the European Horse of the Year in 1971 when he won the Epsom Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, among others. Above: Hall of Fame member Neji was America’s Champion Steeplechase Horse in 1957 and 1958.

The Paintings of Richard Stone Reeves will be on exhibition in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Link Gallery through Dec. 31, 2022. Portraits of Hall of Fame members Cicada, Exceller, Gallorette, Ruffian, Susan’s Girl, and Sword Dancer are among those featured in the exhibit. The Museum has a total of 20 paintings by Reeves in the Permanent Collection.

Easy Goer and Personal Ensign. Alas, Fast Play’s victory in the Breeders’ Futurity came too late for him to make the canvas.

Ogden Phipps was also the breeder and owner of Hall of Famer Buckpasser, a horse Reeves often recalled as singular in his experience of observing and depicting individual equines. A grandson of War Admiral, Buckpasser was described by Reeves as “a racehorse of surpassing beauty whose physical properties stand in my memory as the standard of perfection.”

The repeating successes of the Phipps family, the Aga Khan, and other distinguished breeders/owners was not the only pattern of the artist’s career. A countermelody of the turf is the frequent rise of a champion from a theretofore lesser-known breeder or owner’s sporting ambitions. As expressed in Legends, the emergence of an outstanding thoroughbred from any origin “is something to anticipate with excitement, for to witness greatness is an experience ever fresh.”

So acclaimed and prolific was Reeves for several decades that eight volumes of his work were produced. In addition to Legends, they include Thoroughbreds I Have Known (A. S. Barnes and Co., 1973); Royal Blood: Fifty Years of Classic Thoroughbreds (The BloodHorse, 1995), and Belmont Park: A Century of Champions (The BloodHorse, 2005).

Richard Stone Reeves died on Oct. 7, 2005, at the age of 85. Survivors included Martha, his wife of 50 years; son Richard Stone Reeves, Jr., and daughter Nina Stone Reeves.

Tour the Museum with Legendary Race Caller Tom Durkin

Take a guided tour of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame with Tom Durkin during the 2022 Saratoga racing season! Tours are Wednesday through Sunday at 11 a.m. from July 14 through Sept. 5. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Visit racingmuseum.org or call (518) 584-0400

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