There are two distinct works of art at the station, both depicting black horses, in reference to the station's name. One is in the form of a tile motif depicting a black horse on a white cameo against a light blue background (identical to the colour of the Victoria line). It was done by Hans Unger, who also did the tile motif at Seven Sisters tube station, the original platform mural at Green Park and the ticket hall at Oxford Circus.
Hans Unger (1915 - 1975) was born in Prenzlau, Germany, and went on to study graphic art with the poster designer Jupp Wiertz in Berlin, before emigrating to South Africa in 1936. He fought for the South African army in the Second World War broke out, and was briefly captured - and then escaped from - the Italian army in North Africa. After the war he settled in London and co-founded the Unger Mosaic Workshop. He designed many posters and artworks for London Transport (1950-74). His other works include mural mosaics for Lewisham Town Hall and the Royal Free Hospital, London, as well as the stained glass windows of many English churches.
Sadly, as noted by Gerald Cinamon at German Designers:
Although a sense of humor pervades Unger’s work, he committed suicide in London in 1975.
The other mural (by David McFall) is outside the station's entrance, of a black stallion titled Shying Horse, 1968. David McFall (1919 – 1988) was a Glaswegian sculptor.
Notable works include Bull Calf, which was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and bought for the Tate in 1942 while McFall was still a student; Boy & Foal, which featured in the Dome of Discovery at the Festival of Britain; and a major statue of Winston Churchill in Woodford Green.