The Race Track

c. 1891

Jean-Louis Forain

Associated Names
Jean-Louis Forain

Artist, French, 1852 - 1931

This painting depicts a wide, grassy green field with distant green hills under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. To the right of center, two men and one woman seem to be engaged in conversation. One man wears a dark suit with a long jacket over it and a top hat, and the other man wears a red shirt with tan breeches, tall black boots, a shorter brown coat, and a round hat. The woman wears a long pink dress with a ruffled black neckline and a large pink hat. Behind them, on the left, are four people riding horses, all headed towards the back left. On the far left, more men and women in dresses and suits seem to watch as the horses and riders race by, one woman holding a large white parasol. All of the people appear to have light skin, and their facial features are indistinct. The brushstrokes in the painting are loose and visible, and the landscape and sky are painted with short, overlapping lines going in different directions, giving the scene a hazy impression.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 83


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gouache on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 80.5 x 114.9 cm (31 11/16 x 45 1/4 in.)
    framed: 97.8 x 134 x 6.9 cm (38 1/2 x 52 3/4 x 2 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1985.64.18


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Ambroise Vollard [1866-1939], Paris). (Georges Seligmann, Inc., New York); sold 25 March 1953 to Paul Mellon [1907-1999], Upperville, Virginia; gift 1985 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1960

  • Sport and the Horse, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1960, no. 62, repro.

Bibliography

1969

  • Wasell, Nancy Michelle. Jean Louis Forain, the Painter. M.A. Thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1969: 27, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: forain

Wikidata ID

Q20190271

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