Churchill picks Ky artist for Derby painting
Churchill Downs has selected watercolors by Kentucky artist Jim Cantrell as the official paintings for the Kentucky Derby 143.
This is the first time the company has chosen an artist from the state to create the Derby’s officially licensed artwork. Reproductions of two watercolor paintings by Cantrell will be on the 2017 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks posters, tickets and souvenir racing programs.
“I was surprised when I got the call,” Cantrell said. “Now, I’m looking forward to going to my first Kentucky Derby this May.”
Cantrell, who lives with his wife, Jeanette, in Bardstown, Ky., where they have a gallery, moved to Kentucky to be a potter-in-residence at Berea College almost 46 years ago. He had been a high school art teacher and associate professor of art in Nebraska.
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His painting for the Kentucky Derby depicts four horses bounding around a turn with Churchill Downs’ twin spires in the background along with cheering crowd members. His painting for the Kentucky Oaks shows a jockey in cream and green silks on horseback holding his trophy above his head with lilies draped around the horse’s neck and onlookers all about.
Churchill Downs chose Cantrell to create the posters after working with a licensing agency to create a list of 16 skilled local and national artists. The list also included recommendations from the Kentucky Arts Council and artists who had created works for events such as the Westminster Kennel Club and Atlanta’s Dogwood Festival. Churchill Downs reviewed the portfolios of all the artists considered.
The first official Kentucky Derby poster featured the work of Leroy Neiman in 1997.
Cantrell’s paintings are in the permanent collections of 14 art museums in the country, including the Speed Art Museum and Owensboro Museum of Fine Art. Cantrell also has received two Al Smith Fellowships from the Kentucky Arts Council.
Reach reporter Elizabeth Kramer at (502) 582-4682 and ekramer@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter @arts_bureau and on Facebook at Elizabeth Kramer - Arts Writer.
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