David Gilmour Blythe, self-taught painter, produced some of the best satirical and humorous art in the nineteenth century. What made his humor and satire stand out was his eye for composition and shading: he may make you laugh, but it’s likely that the first thing you noticed was the striking play of light and shadow. He lived in Pittsburgh and environs all his life, and the Carnegie Museum of Art has a whole wall of his paintings in the nineteenth-century gallery; this is one of them. (The Duquesne Club also has a distinguished collection.) Father Pitt has known some horses like this one. How do you know when your horse has had enough? Don’t worry: the horse will let you know.
