Thomas J. Scott studied medicine in Philadelphia, but instead of opening a practice he decided to move to Kentucky to paint animals. He learned to draw from Edward Troye, who was one of the first American painters to specialize in animal subjects. Scott traveled around the United States, painting most of the famous racehorses of his day. After the Civil War, he settled in Tullytown, Pennsylvania, with his wife and wrote articles for the magazine Turf, Field and Farm.