The Spirit of the Morgan Horse, (sculpture).

The Spirit of the Morgan Horse, (sculpture).

Reardon, Gwen, sculptor.

Joel Meisner & Company, Inc., founder.

The Spirit of the Morgan Horse, (sculpture).

Dedicated May 14, 1988.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: bronze and granite.

Sculpture: approx. 8 ft. 5 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. x 10 ft. 10 in.; Base: approx. 12 ft. 10 in. x 7 ft. 4 1/2 in. x 4 in. (4,000 lbs.).

(On front of bronze base, raised lettering:) The/Morgan/Horse/And so it was that God looked with compassion/upon the new and struggling nation, and/He said, "I will give these builders/a companion who will lift up their burdens/and lift up their hearts and refresh their weariness/with his beauty. And it came to pass that He/set in their midst, a small and sturdy horse of fiery spirit, powerful and strong but gentle, with lines/etched in matchless beauty, so that even as he eased their burdens, their eyes beheld in wonder his grace/and symmetry of form, and they could find no flaw in him and neither could they name his origin. The builders/and the horse wrought well together and a new nation was born and they called her name America. The horse was/Justin Morgan given by God to the nation thru a humble schoolmaster, this day enthroned in the hearts of men so that/his name shall endure forever, and he shall tread the golden trail of ages, side by side with man, and it shall be said of him/that he helped build America./by Edna E. Tisdale

(On rear of bronze base, raised lettering:) Presented by/AMERICAN MORGAN HORSE INSTITUTE/to the/KENTUCKY HORSE PARK/Thru the generosity of/Mr. & Mrs. Henry E. I. du Pont/May 14, 1988/Sculpture by/Gwen Reardon/Lexington Kentucky/AMHI (On sides of bronze base:) Ethan Allen 1849-1876 United States Calvary 1775-1942 General Philip H. Sheridan & Rienzi The United States Morgan Horse Farm 1905-1951 Cabell's Lexington 1863-1879 King of the Show Ring

A Morgan horse trots with proper left front hoof and proper right rear hoof raised. The horse's head and tail are erect and its mane and tail appear to be blowing in the wind. The sculpture is mounted atop a rectangular bronze base with sloping sides on top of a short granite base. The right and left sides of the bronze base contain reliefs that tell the history of the Morgan horse. On the rear of the bronze base is a side view of a Morgan horse pulling a rider in a carriage. The sculpture rests within a patio area.

Animal -- Portrait -- Lord Appleton

Animal -- Horse -- Morgan

Architecture -- Vehicle -- Carriage

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kentucky -- Lexington

Administered by Kentucky Horse Park, International Museum of the Horse, 4089 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, Kentucky 40511

Located Kentucky Horse Park, 4089 Iron Works Pike, Adjacent to horse track, Lexington, Kentucky 40511

Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. I. du Pont, of Wilmington, Delaware, donated the sculpture to the Kentucky Horse Park through the American Morgan Horse Institute in Shelburne, Vermont, an organization they helped found. The artist was commissioned by Mrs. du Pont to create the sculpture to commemorate America's oldest breed, the Morgan horse, for its bicentennial in 1989. The sculpture was modeled after Lord Appleton, the du Pont's stallion whose father, Waseeka's Nocturne, resembles Justin Morgan, the first Morgan horse. IAS files contain a clipping from The Courier-Journal, May 29, 1988 about the dedication ceremony. IAS files also contain articles from Uphappenings (Spring 1988): pg. 3; The National Horseman (Sept. 1988): pg. 51; and a press release from The American Morgan Horse Association announcing the dedication of the sculpture.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kentucky survey, 1995.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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