NUMBER 1

Davis W. Morton / 1992 / oil on canvas / 18 X 24 inches

     On Sunday afternoons, I used to go to the Potomac Polo Club in Poolesville, Maryland.  There, rather than watching the game itself, I was watching “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” Dragoons and Cossacks, Indians and Cowboys.  To me, it seemed that Polo was where the Cavalry went after it disappeared, and in my paintings I am also using the sport symbolically.  Polo represents the game of life, where the ball that we are always chasing is providence or fate.

     If the ball is always landing somewhere else, no one can remain #1 forever or even for very long.  Still, most of us would like to be thought of as being the “best” at whatever we choose to do, and that desire is also an obstacle that can keep us from that goal. 

     If I really want to be the best at anything, I must focus all of my attention on what I’m doing. Thinking about my position or comparing myself to other people, will only squander my concentration.   So the paradox about being “Number 1” is that if I don’t care about being “Number 1,” I will be “Number 1” more often.  In pursuing this contradiction, it seems that doing my best, rather than being the best, is the only pleasure that should ever be enjoyed.

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