Description:

Vaughn Flannery (American, 1898–1955) GREENTREE ENTRY – AIKEN TRIALS $40,000. – $50,000. Oil on renaissance panel, 24” x 36” Signed, inscribed ‘Aiken Trials’ $40,000. – 50,000. Provenance: Kraushaar Galleries, New York City Vaughn Flannery was an influential and successful advertising art director for the firm of Young & Rubicam. Flannery’s paintings of racehorses stood in stark contrast to that of his contemporaries. Rather than paint traditional confirmation portraits, Flannery painted purely for enjoyment and took a more natural approach. This approach eventually landed his work in esteemed collections such as the Phillips Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the private collection of John Hay Whitney. It also secured the Louisville-born Flannery’s place as one of Kentucky’s most cherished and reputable artists. Flannery was interested in portraying his subjects in their natural surroundings — turned out in paddocks, being loaded into a trailer, or handled by grooms after exercise. His naturally posed horses captured the true essence and beauty of racing culture. This painting depicts the Aiken Trials, which began in 1942 at the newly built Aiken Training Track. Devereux Milburn, F. S. von Stade, and William B. Wood obtained a charter for the training track in 1941. Modeled after Keeneland’s track in Lexington, Kentucky, it was completed and opened in November of that year and not long after saw success with Shut Out, who trained there, winning the 1942 Kentucky Derby. Begun in 1942 as a way to give young horses in training the enlightening opportunity to experience every aspect of live racing, the Aiken Trials have become a time-honored tradition as the first leg of Aiken’s Triple Crown events, held annually for three consecutive Saturdays in March. There are six races on the program consisting of five races for 2-year-olds and maidens (horses that might have started in a race, but have never won), running a quarter-mile to 41⁄2 furlongs, and one race for older horses that have already won. The jockeys are local exercise riders who have an afternoon in the spotlight after paying their dues exercising horses each morning (in all weather) throughout the year. Occasionally, a trainer brings in a licensed jockey to compete, making some exciting competition for the exercise riders. There were 200 horses booked to train at the Aiken Training Track in spring 1942. Notable owners included John H. Whitney with 35 horses, George H. “Pete” Bostwick with 20, Mrs. Ogden Phipps with 10, William Post with 18, Brookmeade Stable with 40, and Lindsay C. Howard/Bing Crosby Stable with 12. During the 1930s to the 1960s, an era described by some as the “golden age of racing,” Aiken was the home of flat and steeplechase racehorses that were owned by some of the richest and most famous people in the world. They included Elizabeth Arden, Walter P. Chrysler, Isabel Dodge Sloane, John D. Hertz, Louis B. Mayer, and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. In the work being offered, Flannery depicts some of Thoroughbred racing’s most influential owners of the day. John Hay Whitney’s Greentree Stables colors and Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s silks can be seen on Aiken mainstay exercise riders and jockeys. Also pictured is celebrated Aiken horseman George Poole as the paddock judge. The group of four is John Hay Whitney; his trainer, J. M. Gaver; and jockeys Anthony Greco and Wayne D. Wright.

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November 17, 2019 4:00 PM EST
Lexington, KY, US

Cross Gate Gallery

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