Born in Liverpool in 1819, Tait had an early fascination with art when in 1831 he went to work at Agnew & Zanetti's Repository of Arts in Manchester, England. Shortly after his arrival Thomas Agnew assumed full management of the firm and the company began to specialize only in the sale of paintings. "According to the tradition that has come down in the Tait family, it was Agnew who noticed his young employee's appreciation of the prints and paintings in his shop and who then helped him acquire the fundamentals of the artist's craft." (op. cit., W. H. Cadbury, and F. H. March, p. 13).

In 1850 Tait, with his wife of twelve years, and his cousin, left England for the United States and settled in New York. This work was painted in 1852 the year he exhibited twelve canvases at the National Academy of Design. "The senior, honorary members had opportunities to single out talented individuals and to invite them to submit a few canvases to the competition for the annual spring exhibition of the National Academy of Design. This recognition came to Tait in 1852, scarcely eighteen months after his arrival in America... They selected six of Tait's pictures, a signal honor." (op. cit., W. H. Cadbury, and F. H. March, p. 28)

Our painting was exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1853. The care taken in painting the figure of the horse and the detail of the still life, comprising the saddle and horse's tack, would place the work as one of Tait's fine horse portraits.