Conformation and the Parade Ring · At the Rail
At the Races
Edgar Degas, oil on canvas, c.1877 · oil on canvas
What it is
Horses fidget at the rail while the crowd behind them looks at everything except the running.
Why it matters
Degas treated the racecourse as a piece of society on display, the horses one attraction competing with several others for the same eyes.
What to notice
how many figures in the crowd have turned their backs to the rail entirely.
The horses are the excuse, not the point.
Provenance
- Maker
- Edgar Degas, oil on canvas, c.1877
- Era
- The Victorian Turf (1837–1901)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Made
- 1877
- Source
- Private collection
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the work’s own year of publication. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-20.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan's resolution doesn't clear our floor for a physical print, so this piece is offered as a digital download only.
Size
$29.00
More from the Stable Wall
Elsewhere in the family
- The Links — the other morning religion.
- Painted Lineage — the bloodline, beside the family line.
- Painted Earth — home ground as a period map.