The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)
c. 1896–1908
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 70.5 × 90 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-108985
Ryder’s subject was inspired by a horse race that took place in New York during 1888. One of the artist’s friends wagered $500 on the race and then died by suicide after the horse lost. Medieval symbolism infuses the composition: death appears as a skeleton on horseback holding a scythe with which he cuts down the living, while a snake—a sign of temptation and evil—slithers in the foreground. An intense man, Ryder worked on the painting for several years and was deeply reluctant to part with it.
Provenance
Wade Fund, 1928.8
Registry history
- c. 1896–1908 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
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