I once asked Stainforth to give me some idea of his methods. He replied that he first examines the horse carefully, making small pencil sketches with remarks on characteristic features, and then, with the impressions fresh in his mind, makes a small sketch in colour from 8 to 12 inches in size, giving as far as possible the pose, proportions and colour, without any attempt at fine detail. This study is then compared with the horse, and any alterations that are necessary are made, and further notes are made all round the study. In some cases he makes several sketches, each one getting nearer the perfect representation. The head is the part that requires the greatest care, and many studies of this alone may have to be made before he is satisfied with the results. Having decided the size of the canvas, he next decides on the pose which will best suggest the character of the subject and the direction from which the light will fall to show to best advantage such salient features as the head, shoulders or quarters. An appropriate background has also to be chosen. When we come to sum up the merits of Martin Stainforth as a painter of horses, the first point which must be conceded in his favour is his power for conveying a faithful delineation of the particular animal that he is dealing with. He possesses a gift for detecting a horse’s chief characteristics and is thus enabled to interpret anything in the animal’s conformation that is vital in helping to make the completed work an accurate portrait, in addition to its being an agreeable work of art. As regards his medium, he is equally at home in either water-colour or oils, but he tells me that oils give him much more scope for his large pictures, while water-colour is more suitable for his small studies. His technique has reached such a pitch that he can paint a horse’s coat with such fine detail and beauty of texture that it resembles the work of a painter of miniatures. Stainforth’s love for the horse helps him to strike the ideal pose for each particular animal, and this is most happily shown in his studies of the brilliant Woorak, who was noted for his exuberant spirits and playful, contented nature. Perhaps there is nothing more difficult to achieve in painting a horse than the successful suggestion of his muscular body by means of delicate light and shade. The ordinary painter of the horse generally represents exaggerated muscles, but in Stainforth’s horses, though we do not actually see muscles brought into relief, we are nevertheless made aware of their presence under the glossy skin with its vivid sheen.