Fred Stone

1930 - 2018

April 13, 1930 - February 4, 2018 Fred Stone, renowned equine artist, passed away peacefully at home on February 4, 2018 with his family at his side from complications of cancer. Born in St. Louis to Sam and Dorothy Stone on April 13, 1930, Fred and the family moved to Los Angeles in 1934. He attended Fairfax High School where he pitched on the baseball team that included three future L.A. Dodgers. The highlight of his baseball career was pitching a one-hitter against the St. Louis Browns, who became the Baltimore Orioles. After attending Otis, Art Center, and Chouinard art institutes, Fred began his art career as a commercial artist, moving on in 1955 to painting backgrounds for movies and TV shows including "Gunsmoke" and "Rawhide." Perhaps his most famous piece from this period was a park scene that was later used in the "Laugh-In" dirty old man sketches. In 1960, he left the art world for 16 years to work for Monogram Industries, where he became national sales and marketing manager for their marine division. When he decided to go back to painting, his daughter Laura who was working for Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham suggested that he paint race horses. He agreed and, with wife Norma, founded the company Equinart to sell originals and prints. His breakthrough work was "The Final Thunder," which captured the relationship between the great Man o' War and his groom Will Harbut. Fred and Norma were hoping to sell a few prints and cover the printing costs. Instead they were swamped with orders and quickly sold out their initial supply. Fred painted racing scenes of Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and many other great race horses past and present. His portraits of mares and foals were also popular, as were his portraits of jockeys Bill Shoemaker and Lafitte Pincay. Before Fred Stone, the typical horse painting was a standing portrait of a posing racehorse. Fred brought life and emotion to his paintings. Sometimes Fred or Norma would pick up the phone to hear a customer crying because he or she was so moved by one of his new paintings. Fred raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities including the After the Finish Line and Race Track Chaplaincy. His biggest fund-raiser was a painting not of a horse, but of a rescue dog at the Oklahoma City bombing site. Fred leaves behind daughter Laura, son Russell, daughter-in-law Dorothy, and brother Martin, all of whom adored him. His beloved wife of 60 years Norma passed away in 2011. A celebration of his life will be held for family and friends.