For me to consider something "equestrian art" all I need to see is a horse! A horse with wings is just fine with me. And the fact that the artist wasn't known for specializing in horses, doesn't matter a bit! And that's why when Mike and I found a tattered copy of Lynd Ward’s book The Silver Pony we had to have it!

Illustration by Lynd Ward, from The Silver Pony pub 1973

It's just one of the many stories Ward published that are books without words. Ward is considered one of the the forefathers of the American graphic novel and his early works featured his amazing woodcut illustrations. Given the much softer shading of the illustrations in The Silver Pony, I don’t think this is woodcut but rather lithography, another of Ward’s mediums. I haven’t been able to find the exact answer but I’m working on it! There are 80 illustrations and it tells a story that any one from anywhere can understand. Each page of the book is printed on one side only and even the chapter pages (one through seven) are distinguished by stars rather than letters.

Illustration by Lynd Ward, from The Silver Pony pub 1973

Ward published his first book, God's Man, in 1929, and The Silver Pony (his last book) in 1973. I had never heard of Lynd Ward before picking up this book and decided that the best way to share his amazing art was to create some decorative pieces using the actual pages from the book, and we’re in the process of framing a series of three now!

Illustration by Lynd Ward, from The Silver Pony pub 1973