Saratoga Track 

Paul Froelich’s ‘Saratoga Track’ is a pastel and pencil work offering an intriguing glimpse into American sporting culture. Froelich presents us with two horses and their jockeys. The use of color is striking. The horse on the right is rendered in vivid oranges and reds, seemingly bursting with energy, while its counterpart on the left is depicted in more muted greys and greens. The fragmented, almost Cubist style, adds to the sense of movement and dynamism, capturing the essence of a day at the races. Made in the mid-20th century, this work invites us to consider the social rituals around horse racing. How does Froelich engage with the traditions of sporting art, while also pushing the boundaries of modernism? To understand this, we might look at magazine illustrations of the time, or the records kept by institutions such as the Jockey Club. Ultimately, ‘Saratoga Track’ reminds us that a work of art is not created in a vacuum, but is a product of its time, shaped by the social and cultural forces at play.