NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 1, 2013 – The Iroquois Steeplechase, set for May 11, 2013, announces Lee Baskerville as the Featured Artist for the 72nd running.

“When you see his work, it’s obvious that Lee has an eye for life’s beauty,” said Dwight Hall, chairman of the Iroquois Steeplechase Race Committee. “Baskerville paints real scenes from a life he knows, in a way that people can deeply appreciate and connect. He uses just enough detail to capture the essence of the moment—the intense feeling of energy in a horse’s stride. This feeling of energy is probably why he titled this year’s Iroquois painting “Kinetic Energy.
“Kinetic Energy” has taken Baskerville over a year to complete. From preliminary studies to numerous drafts, this year’s painting depicts a horse and his jockeyset against the recognizable backdrop of the Iroquois grounds.
A rider and an avid foxhunter, Baskerville spends much of his time with horses. He believes that to paint a subject perfectly you must be deeply involved with it. For this reason, his favorite perspective is from the saddle. “If one waits for the action to come to them, one will always miss the spirit of the sporting world altogether,” said Baskerville.
The Virginia native has spent almost his entire life working in the art/sporting world. Beginning when he was only nine-years-old, Baskerville was commissioned for his first collection of work creating brochure illustrations for a South African safari company. The son of a safari guide, Baskerville spent childhood summers in rustic tent camps in southern Africa. This first project nurtured his aspiration to become a wildlife painter.
“My childhood dream was to paint wildlife, so I when I was working in the safari industry in my late teens, I would always take my Sundays to explore the private game reserve on which I worked merely to enjoy sketching the myriad wildlife,” said Baskerville. “I would pick a direction and walk 10 to 12 miles through the interior of the Savannah. Eventually, I stopped wearing shoes to become quieter when I stalked animals, and I even got to the point where I would go out without a rifle…a magic life for a young man indeed. After earning a degree in Art History from the University of Virginia, almost twenty years ago, I settled on the more respected career of a commissioned society portraitist, and that has led to a lovely life ever since.”
Baskerville’s career continues to take him to far corners of the world even today, as his artwork appears in American, English, Spanish, Dutch,Argentinian, Uruguayan, Portuguese, South African and Zimbabwean collections.
Baskerville has painted hundreds of formal and informal portraits, landscapes, still lives, and more than 30 architectural murals. His style is often compared to that of Sir Alfred Munnings, Anders Zorn and John Singer Sargent. He received his degree in art history from the University of Virginia.
Learn more about Lee Baskerville by visiting his website atwww.leebaskerville.com.
 
About the Iroquois Steeplechase
Held on the second Saturday of every May at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park, the Iroquois Steeplechase is the premier spring race in American steeplechasing and Music City’s traditional rite of spring – typically attracting more than 25,000 spectators. Since being designated in 1981 as the official charity of the Iroquois Steeplechase, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has received more than $9 million from the event proceeds. For information on advance ticket purchases, corporate and hospitality tents, and tailgating and RV spaces, visitwww.iroquoissteeplechase.org or call (615) 591-2991.