from the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame

Goshen, NY — The last day to catch the highly acclaimed exhibit featuring works of Richard Stone Reeves (1919-2005) will be Sunday, April 17. A new exhibit, “Sulky Slicks” showcasing the sport of harness racing as an advertising icon will open on Saturday, April 23, in the Museum’s Carriage Room, in Goshen, N.Y.

The Reeves’ retrospective was installed to celebrate his induction into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame last July. The display of Museum-owned works features many of the trotting and pacing stars of the mid-20th century and is a graphic demonstration of the artist’s unique perspective to the tradition of equine portraiture of the time — a model that caused The New York Times to describe him as “one of the premier equine artists in the world.”

Reeves added a lifelike dimension to otherwise two-dimensional canvases by placing equal emphasis on his subjects’ physical attributes and psychological characteristics. Not afraid to leave his studio, Reeves regularly traveled to tracks and training facilities to study his four-legged subjects and talk to their owners, trainers and drivers, to better understand the horses’ personalities. The result was a lifetime of stunning portraits that magnificently captured the character and individuality of each equine subject.

Although Reeves has become known primarily for his Thoroughbred portraiture, his roots were firmly embedded in the Standardbred community. Born in Manhattan, young Reeves indulged his passion for horses and art by spending his free time sketching Standardbreds at the nearby Mineola (Long Island) Fairgrounds, later the grounds of Roosevelt Raceway.

Reeves received his BA in Fine Arts from Syracuse University in 1941; however, he put his art career on hold to serve his country in World War II. During that time he met a fellow naval officer, Robert G. Johnson, president of Roosevelt Raceway. Through this fateful acquaintance Reeves obtained his first official commission: to paint portraits of the top trotters and pacers of 1946 for the racetrack’s new clubhouse.

Following Reeves’ Roosevelt experience, his fame spread rapidly within the Standardbred and Thoroughbred communities. He received commissions from prominent horsemen and art collectors that included the Aga Khan, Stanley Dancer, Harry Guggenheim, Roland Harriman, Paul Mellon, and Ronald Reagan. His star subjects include Standardbreds Meadow Skipper and Cardigan Bay and Thoroughbreds Secretariat and Affirmed. In summing up his years at the easel Reeves reflected, “My painting career started with the trotters. They’ve been good to me.”

Richard Stone Reeves was 85 when he passed away in Greenport, N.Y., in 2005.

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is located at 240 Main Street in Goshen, New York, and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last tour 4 p.m.) Admission is free. For information call 845.294.6330 or visit www.harnessmuseum.com.