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Portrait of Lexington by Thomas J. Scott / American Art
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Portrait of Lexington

ca. 1857 Thomas J. Scott Born: Tullytown, Pennsylvania Died: Lexington, Kentucky 1888 oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard sight 24 1/8 x 34 3/8 in. (61.3 x 87.4 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection 1980.137.93 Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center



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Portrait of Lexington



The famous racehorse Lexington was born in Kentucky in 1850 and went on to sire more winning horses than any other American thoroughbred before or since. Thomas J. Scott painted this image while living in Kentucky in the 1850s, when Lexington was at his peak. In an article for Turf, Field and Farm, Scott described the stallion's impressive stature: "Lexington was without a peer . . . fifteen hands three inches in height, of very extreme width from the point of one shoulder to the other, broad shoulder blades . . . Lexington came as near to being all horse and no ounce of surplus as one could imagine" (Hervey, Racing in America, 1944). The rich tones in this image emphasize the thoroughbred's glossy coat and lean, prize-winning form.

For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.


Keywords

Animal - horse

Animal - portrait - Lexington

painting

paint - oil

fabric - canvas

fiberboard

About Thomas J. Scott

Born: Tullytown, Pennsylvania Died: Lexington, Kentucky 1888

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