About Fred Stone

My approach to painting the Thoroughbred is quite different from that of most artists that have painted them in the past. Although many horse lovers still prefer paintings done in the traditional style - portraying the horse against a background of beautiful scenery or regal pageantry, I am not comfortable with it. For me, the excitement comes in intimate close-up moods. The viewer must be able to see into the horse’s eyes, even in action scenes, because I believe that the eyes are the window to the soul. In that split second frozen in time, I try to bring out the emotion, power, and personality of these magnificent animals in a way that can’t always be seen by the human eye when the horses are moving at over forty miles per hour. Conveying the communication between man and animal – this is the biggest thrill for me. I hope this is what touches and moves the observer.

I don’t think there is another business or sport of this magnitude in which both man and animal play such an integral part - where man’s skills, as well as his hopes and dreams, are completely tied to one of nature’s most helpless, but beautiful creatures.

Over the years, I have come to know the very special breed of horse lovers who collect my work. They are fanatics: their love for these animals is unmatched by collectors of any other type of artwork. Most art collectors do not live with the subjects of their paintings on a day-to-day basis; many of my collectors do. They watch the animals being bred, being born, racing, growing old, and they watch them die. This makes them the toughest critics of all. It is to this rare group of people that I dedicate my work."

BELOVED EQUINE ARTIST 1930 - 2018