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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Revola Hanover
Owner: A. R. McGowen
Driver: McGowen
Race: West Oxford Agricultural Society, Fryeburg, Maine
Date: 10-5-1939 -
Revola Hanover
Owner: Manuel Mello
Driver: Bolduc
Race: Pine Tree Press Classified Trot
Date: 10-22-1937 -
Revola Hanover
Owner: Millie Mello
Driver: E. Rowe
Race: Kite Track, Old Orchard Beach
Date: 7-11-1940 -
Revola Hanover
Owner: Millie Mello
Driver: E. Rowe
Race: Kite Track, Old Orchard Beach
Date: 7-11-1940 -
Revola Hanover (outside) wins 2nd race
Owner: Manuel Mello
Driver: Bolduc
Race: Classified Trot
Date: 9-25-1937 -
Rhineworthy wins 1st heat
Owner: R. A. Jewell
Driver: P. Chappelle
Race: Handicap Trot & Pace
Date: 10-1933 -
Rhineworthy wins 6th race
Owner: C. A. Murray
Driver: Jordan
Race: Z. L. Merchant's Store Free For All Trot and Pace
Date: 9-14-1935 -
Rhineworthy wins from Mildred May
Owner: Charles Murray
Driver: Jordan
Race: Free for All Pace
Date: 10-10-1935