Milton Menasco
(American, 1890-1974)

Born in California in 1890, Menasco had a rich and full career as an artist in other fields before he devoted his rare genius to equestrian art. In 1948 he left a successful career with a large New York advertising agency and moved to Kentucky.

Among his early clients were John Hay Whitney, Mrs. Isabel Dodge Sloane, Mrs. Richard DuPont, and other great names of American racing.

His work is characterized by a sound understanding of anatomy. In "The British Racehorse" Alexander Mackay-Smith wrote, "Menasco's feeling for composition follows classic lines and is executed with both skill and charm. Menasco is also a good horseman with a good eye. He can paint a horse as it is, in the attitudes it naturally assumes, and in the backgrounds characteristic of the track and of the stud farm."

Milton Menasco died June 9, 1974 in Versailles, Kentucky.