Goodwill Hunting: Horse, $4.00

UPDATE: Hi everyone, I'm Jessica! Lael asked me to kindly introduce myself, since this is my first post. I work as a visual resources librarian, which means I get to look at art all day, every day. I'm not at all artistically talented, so it's a good thing I like spectating. Someone once told me that if you can't do, teach; and if you can't teach, teach phys ed. I guess the philosophy behind my love of acquiring thrift store art is similar: if you can't make art, buy art; if you can't afford to buy art, dumpster dive for it!

When I first saw this piece at the Goodwill on Joppa Road I was struck by the negative space around the horse. The absence of any context made me think of Japanese woodblock prints featuring animals against neutral backgrounds (here's a 17th-century example by the artist Tanyu: Startled Horse). What I love most about this thrift shop find is the muted color palette and the fine detailing of the horse's hair, not to mention the gentle expression on his face.

On the back of the frame--which is coming loose at the corners and required some hammering together--is an old label from the Freeman Victorius Framing Shop in Charlottesville, VA, in business since 1938. This riderless horse has been hoofing it around the Mid-Atlantic for a long time, decades maybe, but he's found a new hitchin' post in my apartment.