Franz Dvorak’s Washington Park Club, Chicago captures the elegance and energy of a late 19th-century horse racing event at the prestigious Washington Park Race Track. A masterful depiction of Chicago’s Gilded Age social scene, the painting immerses the viewer in a bustling crowd of spectators, elegantly dressed in period attire. Women in elaborate hats and flowing gowns engage in animated conversation, while men in suits and top hats observe the race from the grandstand.
Dvorak’s brushwork and attention to detail bring the spectacle to life, from the shimmering fabrics of the attendees’ garments to the distant figures populating the racecourse. The composition is carefully structured, guiding the viewer’s eye from the refined leisure of the foreground to the expansive grandstands and track beyond. Among the notable individuals depicted are Harry D. Cummings and W.W. Gurley, reflecting the prominence of Chicago’s elite in the city’s thriving social and sporting culture.
This work stands as both an artistic triumph and a historical document, offering a glimpse into the excitement and sophistication of Chicago’s racing scene at the turn of the century.
Oil on canvas
38 x 98.5 in
Provenance: The Stangeland Estate, Chicago and San Marino; Robert Henry Adams Fine Art, Chicago
Exhibition History: Third Annual Exhibition of the Cosmopolitan Art Club, Art Institute of Chicago, March 1894
Published in: The Graphic, March 24, 1894
