Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)
About the Artwork
Ryder’s subject was inspired by a horse race that took place in New York during 1888. One of the artist’s friends wagered $500 on the race and then died by suicide after the horse lost. Medieval symbolism infuses the composition: death appears as a skeleton on horseback holding a scythe with which it cuts down the living, while a snake—a sign of temptation and evil—slithers in the foreground. An intense man, Ryder worked on the painting for several years and was deeply reluctant to part with it.
Inscriptions
Signed lower left: "A. P. Ryder"
Provenance
c. 1896–1906: Albert Pinkham Ryder [1847-1914], New York, NY, sold to Louis Lehmeier 1906–by 1913: Louis Lehmeier, returned to the artist After 1906–by 1913: Albert Pinkham Ryder, probably sold to Albert T. Sanden By 1913–1924: Albert T. Sanden, New York, NY 1924: (Ferargil Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1928–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-October 4, 1937). Expressionism and Related Movements. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 26-February 28, 1939). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). 35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951). Art of the United States: 1670-1966. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 28-November 27, 1966). Heritage and Horizon: American Painting 1776 - 1976. Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY (organizer) (March 7-April 11, 1976); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (May 2-June 13, 1976); The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (July 4-August 15, 1976); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 8-October 10, 1976). Kaleidoscope of American Painting, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, MO (organizer) (December 1, 1977-January 22, 1978). Conserving the Past for the Future. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-May 6, 2001). Cleveland Collects American Art of the Gilded Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 23-May 18, 2003).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Albert Pinkham Ryder (American, 1847–1917)
- Date
- c. 1896–1908
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 84.5 x 102 x 6.5 cm (33 1/4 x 40 3/16 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 70.5 x 90 cm (27 3/4 x 35 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 1928.8
More by Albert Pinkham Ryder in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000234
Powered by Art Trackers