Sam Savitt -- remembering a favorite equine artist (updated 9.4.20 with videos and more images)

 An older blog post of mine was shared on social media today. It featured art by Sam Savitt (1917-2000). While the post was shared mostly for the book (Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune)... seeing the book and Savitt's art celebrated made me want to revisit this long-time favorite artist.

Savitt is pictured below with his dog Jenny in 1978.

Savitt was a fantastic observer of equine anatomy and a great teacher.

This wall chart below was a standard feature at tack shops, barns, and pony-loving kids rooms for decades.

Savitt was beloved by young readers for his books about horses and dogs. He often wrote and illustrated his own stories as well illustrating books by others.

Savitt was renowned for his skills depicting all the riding disciplines as well as the wide range of horse breeds.

 "Step a Bit" was the first book Savitt wrote and illustrated himself.

He was appreciated by the equestrian world too -- he did the art for the book "Great Horses of the United States Equestrian Team."  He was the official artist for the USET and a founding member of the Academy of Equine Art.

On You Tube, you can enjoy a 7 part lecture "Sam Savitt Drawing Horses"
Here is part 1 of the lecture (recorded in 1998 and posted by Karen Bowden).

There is also a 6 part painting demo (also recorded in 1998 and posted by Karen Bowden)

Savitt's son Roger posted two Sam Savitt interviews on You Tube.

This one from 1986 (appx 27 mins)

And an AARP inteview from 1999 (appx 15 mins)

Back in 2008, I had a brief email correspondence with his widow, Bette. Savitt's books were a cherished part of many childhood libraries, including my own. Bette enjoyed hearing from fans and knowing that Sam's work was being passed on to younger generations.

Savitt's children now run his website. Check it out to see many originals for sale.
https://samsavittart.com/
In this May 2017 article in "Equestrian Living," Savitt's son Roger shares recollections of his beloved father
https://eqliving.com/remembering-artist-sam-savitt/

Savitt's work and life story are still being shared. This 9.3.20 post on the blog "Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists" shares a 2009 bio on Savitt by David Saunders. https://www.pulpartists.com/Savitt.html

Here are links for previous posts on my blog that feature Savitt:
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-savitt-art-and-illustrated-terhune.html
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/more-horse-reference-scale-models-up-to.html
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2014/09/get-inspired-norman-thelwell-special_5.html
https://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2019/06/7-days-of-books-i-have-loved-day-5.html
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2019/06/7-days-of-books-i-have-loved-day-4.html

Posts about equine artists are some of the most-viewed links on the blog. Start here to see some of the most popular posts:
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2015/12/gift-of-inspiration-equine-artists-jo.html
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2015/09/terryl-whitlatch-horse-art-and-creature.html