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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Sis Belwin
Owner: Michael Schneider
Driver: E. Rose
Race: Two Year Olds Pacing One Mile
Date: 7-31-1936 -
Sister Napoleon
Owner: Joseph Robinson
Driver: James Jordan
Race: 3 Yrs and Under, Trot and Pace
Date: 9-8-1927 -
Sister Napoleon — Jordan up
Owner: Harold Burgess
Driver: Jordan
Race: 2.14 Trot and Pace
Date: 9-1933 -
Sister Napoleon winning from Lady Patch
Owner: Ross and Brackett
Driver: Unknown
Race: 2.12 Class Pace
Date: 8-7-1930 -
Sister Napoleon winning from Lady Patch
Owner: A. W. Walker
Driver: Unknown
Race: 2.12 Class Pace
Date: 8-7-1930 -
Sister Napoleon wins 1st Heat in 2.06 3/4
Owner: H. B. Burgess
Driver: Jordan
Race: 2.14 Stake Pace
Date: 8-20-1931
