Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Lindsay Robertson
‘Old Glory’ wins The Crown Fine Art Award at the prestigious National Open Art Competition'
Says Lindsay Robertson
Well … recognition has made its way (at last!). I am thrilled to announce that my image of ‘Old Glory’ has won The Crown Fine Art Award at the prestigious National Open Art Competition. The exhibition starts on 25th October at the Royal College of Art, London – after which it will move onto venues around the UK.
Over the past few years, the images I have captured within my mobile studio have been getting quite a bit of exposure. Having exhibited in the UK at many of the main horse shows, and earlier this year with the exciting experience of exhibiting at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event in the United States. Along with being featured on BBC TV, work auctioned at Sotheby's New York and magazine articles in Australia, Singapore and the USA, this exposure has certainly propelled the appreciation of my work, not only to the art market, but also into the hearts of adoring horse owners.
The winning of this National award is certainly the icing on the cake. I was just so pleased to have been selected for this amazing exhibition. However winning this prestigious award is not only humbling, but also hugely inspirational because of the recognition it brings to an artist.
After 25 years in advertising photography, I changed direction to concentrate on my passion for photographing black and white landscapes. Within a few years that pursuit led me to achieve recognition from the Worlds pre-eminent Museum of Photography, The Eastman House in Rochester, New York. This Institution bestowed on me, the privilege of being the only photographer to have ever been invited to organize and stage a joint exhibition alongside the Museum’s iconic Ansel Adams collection. I consider this opportunity to be such a profound honour and the pinnacle moment of my career.
Coming from that experience though, I found it hard to find my level and pursued various photographic projects. However, with one I specifically identified a challenge that I could not resist. I developed the concept around photographing horses in a studio environment, something that I had considered for some time, but chose not to pursue because I knew little about horses! By chance, I crossed paths with a horse breeder, who was attending one of my landscape photography workshops, I happened to mention my ideas to him. The breeder was very sympathetic to my concept and said ‘I have 36 horses why don’t you come and give it a try’! … so, from there I gained access to his stable and began to understand the world of horses and start work on the project.
Photographing horses is actually the hardest subject I have ever engaged in, but I love the challenge of capturing images of these daunting flight creatures within the controlled atmosphere of a studio. The response to this project from horse and art lovers, has been overwhelming. Now with this award in hand I will continue to pursue the challenge of ‘the horse’ with more confidence, and I am looking forward to see what doors this exciting opportunity will open.
The Equine Series by Lindsay Robertson