Guy Kendall's Photography
Exploring Guy Kendall’s photographic work starting in 1924, the viewer watches the progression from posed still shots of horses with their trainer/drivers to action shots which capture the excitement of races at the finish line. Through the albums, one is able to watch the growth of relationships between Kendall and the horsemen and women of the southern Maine fair circuit as remote, documentary snaps of horses and drivers become intimate portraits both at the race track and on area farms.
Kendall’s career at the track was put on pause in 1928 as he courted and then married Ruth B. Bennett. Kendall’s work resumed in the album labeled 1930a, where it is possible to see a quantum leap in the quality of his composition from images that were simply a matter of record to those with genuine artistic flair.
According to his niece, Anne Kendall Holmbom, Kendall used a Graflex box camera and glass negatives to capture many of his early photographs. He developed, printed, and re-touched all his photographs personally in his studio located on Congress Street in Portland, Maine.
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Joyce Reed holding Swingtime
Owner: Reed Brothers
Driver:
Race: Cumberland County Fair
Date: 9-19-1939 -
Joy Lincoln
Owner: Dr. E. J. Robbins
Driver: H. Pownall
Race: The Nelson, First Division for Trotters with Records Faster Than 2.05
Date: 7-27-1937 -
Joy Lincoln--Pownal up
Owner: Dr. E. J. Robbins
Driver: H. Pownall
Race: 2.15 Class Trot
Date: 10-10-1936 -
Joy Lincoln wins 3rd Race
Owner: Dr. E. J. Robbins
Driver: H. Pownall
Race: 2.11 Trot
Date: 10-29-1936 -
Julia M. Direct
Owner: Dr. I. A. Bragdon
Driver: Evans
Race: The Shrine Club Free-For-All, Lewiston, Maine
Date: 9-4-1924 -
Julia M. Direct — 2.02 3/4
Owner: Dr. I. A. Bragdon
Driver: Evans
Race: The Shrine Club Free-For-All, Lewiston, Maine
Date: 9-4-1924
