{{Short description|1954 painting by Alex Colville}} {{Infobox artwork | image_file = Horse and Train.jpg | title = Horse and Train | artist = Alex Colville | year = 1954 | medium = Caesin tempera on hardboard | height_metric = 41.2 | width_metric = 54.2 | metric_unit = cm | imperial_unit = in | museum = Art Gallery of Hamilton | city = Hamilton, Ontario }}
'''''Horse and Train''''' is an casein painting by Canadian artist Alex Colville, from 1954. Described by Ray Cronin as being "among the most recognizable images in Canadian art", it is held at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, in Hamilton, Ontario.
==Description== ''Horse and Train'' was inspired by both J. M. W. Turner's 1844 painting ''Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meyers |first1=Jeffrey |title=Gone but still revered, Alex Colville created paintings of contemplation and reflection |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/article-gone-but-still-revered-alex-colville-created-paintings-of/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=August 25, 2020}}</ref> as well as a couplet from South African poet Roy Campbell's 1949 poem "Dedication to Mary Campbell":
{{Blockquote|text= Against a regiment I oppose a brain And a dark horse against an armoured train. |multiline=yes |author=Roy Campbell<ref name="Cronin">{{cite web |last1=Cronin |first1=Ray |author1-link=Ray Cronin |title=Alex Colville, Horse and Train, 1954 |url=https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/alex-colville/key-works/horse-and-train/ |website=Art Canada Institute |access-date=November 28, 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Moir">{{cite news |last1=Moir |first1=Matt |title=AGH expecting Colville's 'Horse and Train' to become a bigger draw |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/agh-expecting-colville-s-horse-and-train-to-become-a-bigger-draw-1.1357122 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |work=CBC News |date=July 18, 2013}}</ref> }}
In 1953, Colville met Campbell at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, during a North America tour. In March 1954, Colville created a study sheet, in which his sketches contained a notation of Campbell's poem.<ref name="Cronin"/> The painting depicts a dark horse approaching an oncoming train on an empty track.<ref name="Moir"/>
''Horse and Train'' was acquired by the Art Gallery of Hamilton in Hamilton, Ontario in early 1957, after winning the gallery's annual Winter Show purchase prize.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Mary |title=Fine Pictures At The Winter Show - But Prize-winner Isn't One Of Them |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hamilton-spectator/159917160/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |work=The Hamilton Spectator |date=February 1, 1957 |page=12}}</ref>
==Influence and legacy== ''Horse and Train'' was described by Ray Cronin as being "among the most recognizable images in Canadian art",<ref name="Cronin"/> and is further described by ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as a notable example of the "meticulous and time-consuming methods" Colville was known for.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alex Colville |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alex-Colville |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=November 28, 2024}}</ref> The painting was used as the cover art for Bruce Cockburn's 1973 album ''Night Vision'', and was additionally used during a scene in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 psychological horror film ''The Shining''.<ref name="Moir"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horse and Rain}} Category:1954 paintings Category:Paintings by Alex Colville Category:Trains in art Category:Paintings of horses