Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Gouache on paper. 1979-80.
Signature: KÕKS 79/80

In 1944, a few years after graduating from Pallas, fate took Endel Kõks (1912-1983) abroad. As an alert and socially active person, he found the opportunity to continue his creative path there, and today we know him as one of the leading Estonian artists abroad. Unlike his fellow students who remained in Estonia, the world was open to Kõks, and numerous trips abroad became a source of inspiration for the artist.

Also in the year of the creation of this painting, Kõks managed to visit several countries, including the USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, and horses were his special attention during this period. So, in the autumn of 1981, he organized a separate exhibition on this topic in Stockholm, where 32 paintings, graphic sheets and drawings were on display, including this one.

The piece is inspired by a historic moment at the 1979 Dublin Horseracing Championships where the legendary Con Powell, one of Ireland’s most famous jockeys (in green), is on his way to the awards ceremony with his winning team. The team won the prestigious Aga-Khan Trophy for three consecutive years, making Powell the only athlete to win the competition riding three different horses.

Endel Kõks, who was present at the competition as an equestrian fanatic, captures a special moment here with sketchy, mood-capturing means – elegant and dignified riders celebrating their third major victory. The figures convey a sense of restrained tension and pride in the achieved result. But do you notice how Kõks also conveys the unique character of each horse and, of course, the pride and bravado of the winning one? Only a truly skilled master can convey tension so aptly and dominantly into visual form. Kõks, who loves color, ties this scene together with carefully selected shades into a visually and emotionally enjoyable whole.

The painting comes from the Endel Kõks’ estate collection and was exhibited at the artist’s solo exhibition “Horses” held at the Foreign Estonia Gallery in Stockholm from October 17 to November 10, 1981 (recorded in Tiiu Talvistu’s monograph “Endel Kõks. With Courage, Freedom and Joy”, p. 264).

Text: Regina Mets, Katre Palm