Rest Break, Bay Clydesdales

Private Collection, Toronto

Charles Beale, “Manly MacDonald: Interpreter of Old Ontario”, Napanee, 2010, pages 10 & 42

Manly MacDonald was known for his pastoral work, painting animals and people at work on farms across Ontario. Through this process, he met countless subjects and passers-by, curious about what he was doing. One anecdote that he often told was about a farmer who took a break from his work to look at what MacDonald was painting. Upon seeing the canvas, the farmer said to him “I see what you’re doing. I have a son who is not very bright. This might be something he could do.” While on a farmer’s land, MacDonald most frequently painted horses. MacDonald’s understanding of the equestrian form can be traced back to his time spent farming with his father as a boy as well as to his intense formal training as a painter. Indeed, MacDonald masterfully captures the musculature and liveliness of the horses in “Rest Break, Bay Clydesdales”. MacDonald usually painted his horses in motion or in a state of readiness, which is consistent with horse painting dating back to prehistory. What makes “Rest Break, Bay Clydesdales” so unusual is that the horse seems to pause and look back at the viewer, meeting our gaze. MacDonald thus engages the viewer as an active participant, inviting us to take a moment of rest along with the horses, and see them as conscious beings.