Everyone who knows me know that I am a horse person. Clearly. I mean, look around my apartment. There are snaffle bits hanging on doorknobs. Horseshoes hang near doors. My spurs sit near my fireplace. OK, I’ll stop. You get the picture.
So yeah, I love horses. I also love stories about horses. Now that I’ll have Another has taken both the Derby and
Preakness, I feel inclined to write about one of my favorite equine finds in
the last year while antiquing in Lexington.
Abby, Lindsey and I had been searching throughout the city
for treasures. In the third or so
shop we visited, I found them.
Sitting on the floor in a back corner were three prints of racehorses
all by the same artist.
The problem ---- they were a mess. And I’m not kidding.
The prints were covered in mold spores, the frames were scratched and
the paper itself looked to be ready to disintegrate at any moment. But they spoke to me. Looking so sad, yet so promising, as they
sit on the floor, they were calling out for me to save them. After walking around the store a few
laps, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. When I asked how much they were, I was told that it would
cost me $25 for all three, or $10 each.
I thought myself crazy, but I took them. All of them.
I made up a grand story in my head about the prints. According to my imagination, the prints had been stored away in a stable for years and years after the farm experienced hard times and had to shut down. Decades later, someone found the prints all dusty and moldy. Then, they landed at the antique shop -- or so I choose to believe.
That night, I dreamt that my friends and I tried to open the
backs of the frames and the prints went scattering into the wind, much like
something that had been away from oxygen for years and unable to handle the
real world. But luckily, it was
only a dream.
While these horses weren't super well known, they had portraits, so basically they were all very good horses. Each won some key races and made lots of money.
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| This is one of the prints I purchased in Lexington. It's a print of Counterpoint. As you can see, there are mold spores all around the dapper fellow. |
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| The three prints, before restoration. I had to buy all of them, right? Couldn't split up the family! |
When I got home, I knew that the prints needed intensive
care. I took them to Reed Arts in
Grandview, knowing that the price was going to be steep. But, hey, at this point I was
committed. I couldn’t allow these
treasures to rot away. As
expected, the price was high, but it’s what I had to do. When the backing was taken off, it was
lined with a cigarette ad from the 50s – truly a step back in time.
After picking up the prints, I just could not have been happier. When they were unwrapped from the paper, I seriously starting tearing up in the art store. They had been completely restored.
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| I think this one is my favorite. It's a print of Counterpoint. Such a pretty face and he kicked tailed in the Belmont. And notice the paper is free of mold! |
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| One Count is looking sharp, too! He was a great steed back in the day- winner of the Belmont Stakes. |
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| Here is Alsab, all cleaned up as well and looking like he is ready to kick some ass! He was a Preakness winner and came in second in the Preakness and Belmont. So close! He busted the Triple Crown Dream when he won the Preakness.
So the moral of the story, buy the art that speaks to
you. If it is truly special, take
care of it. And even if it looks
like trash, it most likely has potential.
Restoring these pieces was seriously one of the best uses of money I
have ever experienced. I saved
them. They are mine, and I love
them every day.
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