By Bloodhorse.com
Equine artist Fred Stone, whose works are in the White House and Buckingham Palace, died Feb. 4. He was 87.
On his Facebook page, Stone’s family reported that the artist died due to complications from cancer. They said he was surrounded by family.
Born April 13, 1930, in St. Louis, Stone’s family moved to Los Angeles when he was 3. He studied art at the Otis Art Institute as a child. Later, he attended The Art Center School and Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. Stone worked as a commerical artist and painted backgrounds for the film industry. In the late 1970s he turned to painting racehorses.
In a 1990 BloodHorse story, Stone described that transition.
“At first they all looked alike,” Stone said. “But I fell in love with racing and once I studied horses, they became individuals—full of emotion and power.”
Stone’s large murals can be found all over the world, including the world’s largest horse mural at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.
Stone supported worthy charities in the racing community and beyond, including families of New York firefighters impacted by 9-11, handicapped children on horse back foundations, disabled jockeys, and finding homes for retired racehorses, among others. On his passing, groups like After the Finish Line noted his contributions.
Throughout his career, Stone donated proceeds from the sale of various prints to many equine-related charities.
“I have been fortunate,” Stone said in the 1990 BloodHorse story. “I made my career from horse racing and I want to share that with others.”