The Kernen family had been racehorse fans since the time when Mr. Kernen owned a Tavern on Preston Street. The children were entertained by listening to customers who quoted odds and gave descriptions of lineage and muscle tone.
So when Frank and his sister, Rosina heard about Tony Oswald’s reproduction print of the One Hundreth Running of the Kentucky Derby, it was a given that they would purchase one to hang in their homes. Since I knew how to frame prints, they invited me to join them in the trip to buy their prints from the painter.
Artists have a way of marking a place in your heart and memory. Tony put a mark in my heart and memory when he greeted us at the doorway to the house that was his studio.
He looked down at a small pot of flowers that he had just placed on his porch. He smiled at us and said. “A pot of Geraniums always gives the place class.”
I would admire many of his paintings in the future and we would share years of friendship in art circles, but that first meeting always flashes back to me when Geraniums bloom and horses are called to the Post.