John Taylor Arms

John Taylor Arms, born in Washington D.C. in 1887, first studied law at Princeton and changed to architecture, studying in Boston and graduating in 1912. He then began his career as an architect in New York and soon became a well-known artist working mainly with etchings and aquatints. His work was considered a form of gothic architecture as he created etchings of medieval cathedrals and gargoyles. However, he also produced views of American cities. Arms worked until the day he died in 1953.

The painting Man-of-War, actually Man o’ War, depicted the horse of the same name, also known as “Big Red”. He was an American thoroughbred chestnut stallion widely considered one of the greatest racehorses of all-time, if not the greatest. Man o’ War lived from 1917-47 and won 20 of his 21 races in 1919 and 1920, once finishing second to a horse named Upset. Man o’ War was United States Horse of the Year in 1920 and was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1957. The color engraving by Arms was made in 1921 in the format 43.5 x 47.7 cm. The motif can be considered as very peculiar for this artist.