Conformation and the Parade Ring · The Conformation
Dr. Syntax, a Bay Racehorse, Standing by an Estuary
James Ward, 1820 · oil on canvas
What it is
Dr. Syntax, a bay racehorse, stands on a rise above an estuary in James Ward’s oil on canvas, signed and dated 1820.
Why it matters
Doctor Syntax (1811–1838) shared his name with the comic clergyman of William Combe and Thomas Rowlandson; Ward painted him in his racing years.
What to notice
The horse is placed high on the canvas, so the coast falls away behind him toward the light.
A comic name, a serious horse.
Provenance
- Maker
- James Ward, 1820
- Era
- The Georgian Turf (1750–1837)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Made
- 1820
- Horse
- Dr. Syntax
- Source
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection · via Wikimedia Commons
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 2026-11-01. Wikimedia Commons licence tag, read 2026-11-01: Licensed-PD-Art|PD-old-auto-expired|cc-zero|deathyear=1859. The maker died in 1859.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 24x36" cleanly.
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.