Deer and horses

Margit’s paintings with whitetail deer and farm horses

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You might think it odd to pair up deer and horses. There are similarities and differences in Margit’s representations of these two large animals. Their commonality is… there are just too few of them included in her paintings (IMO). How do they differ? For one, the deer is always, understandably, a wild animal. It’s seen out in fields or along roadsides. Horses, on the other hand, are usually being worked. They’re pulling a wagon, a sleigh, or a plow, often as a team. When they’re not under harness, they’re still being controlled by man—as they stand behind a fence. Why not show a horse out in a field far from any fence, like Margit has shown plenty of cattle—and even sheep?

  • ID: 60-19 “Fall road”
  • Details: 16″ x 20″ / Orig price: $10.00 / …

    This is a fairly early painting where Margit didn’t even think the deer was worth mentioning in the title. The emphasis is on the road. And of course, it being fall, deer like to hang by the road.

    This painting is also featured in Shadows on Roads.

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  • ID: 63-14 “Fall road deer”
  • Details: 18″ x 24″ / Orig price: $7.00 / …

    This painting is larger than the other here, but the deer is smaller. It’s seen in outline lurking by the road ahead.

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  • ID: 71-44 “fall scene & horses”
  • Details: 16″ x 20″ / Orig price: $15.00 / Initial owner: S. Johnson

    Margit often shows horses hard at work pulling a plow, a haywagon, or a sleigh. Here the horses are off the job. But they’re still bound in by a substantial fence.

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  • ID: 73-06 “fall scene & deer”
  • Details: 16″ x 20″ / Orig price: $15.00 / …

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  • ID: 73-47 “Orange fall & deer”
  • Details: 16″ x 20″ / Orig price: $15.00 / …

    This is about as large as Margit will paint an animal. Framed by the gap in the trees behind him, the deer stands poised with his nose seemingly lifted to catch any odor on the breeze.