Iron Horse, (sculpture).

Iron Horse, (sculpture).

Pattison, Abbott, 1916-1999, sculptor.

Iron Horse, (sculpture).

1954. Installed May 24, 1954. Relocated May 1954 and Dec. 1959.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: steel, painted; Foundation: steel.

Sculpture: approx. 12 ft. x 8 ft. x 3 ft. 6 in. (2-3 tons).

An abstract horse, made of welded steel. The horse is defined by undulating outlined shapes, particularly in the mane and tail, and the play against negative spaces.

Animal -- Horse

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Greensboro

Owned by University of Georgia, Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton Street, Athens, Georgia 30602

Located L.C. Curtis Farm, Route 15, Greensboro, Georgia 30642

Formerly located Diamond Hill, Madison County, Georgia

Formerly located University of Georgia, Reed Quadrangle, Athens, Georgia

The sculpture was created by the artist, while he was an artist-in-residence at the University in 1953-1954. His work was funded through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to bring contemporary art to the South. Within the first day of its May 1954 installation on campus, the abstract sculpture provoked controversy. Students hung defamatory signs on the sculpture, placed manure under it, painted it with graffiti, and set a fire underneath it. University administrators removed the sculpture within days of its initial installation and moved it to Diamond Hill (Madison County, GA), a farm owned by C. M. Thompson, the University's maintenance director. In December of 1959, with permission from the University who continues to retain ownership of the sculpture, the sculpture was moved to agriculture professor L.C. Curtis' farm outside of Athens. The Iron Horse has now become a part of the lore of the college and unsuccessful attempts have been made by various parties to bring the sculpture back to the Athens campus. It is also the subject of a film, "Iron Horse," by William VanDerKloot, which examines the defamation of the sculpture and its relationship to attitudes towards public art.

IAS files contain numerous related articles from the Red and Black (University of Georgia), May 28, 1954 through May 31, 1990; and The Athens Banner-Herald, May 26, 1954 through April 1, 1968. IAS files contain related articles from: the Athens Banner-Herald & The Daily News, July 20, 1969, pg. 3, 14, and Nov. 27, 1980, pg. 15-16; the Athens Daily News, May 20, 1990 and June 1, 1990; the Athens Observer, Dec. 23, 1981, pg. 4-A, March 3, 1983, May 17, 1990, pg. 1A-2A, and June 7, 1990, pg. 4A; The Atlanta Constitution, May 28, 1954, Oct. 30, 1979, and Nov. 11, 1981; the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, May 13, 1984, pg. 4-C; the Atlanta Journal, Sept. 15, 1990; the Atlanta Weekly, Feb. 8, 1981, pg. 6 and 8; Atlanta (July 1971): pg. 52-53, 78-82; and Centaur (Fall 1981): pg. 9-11. IAS files also contain correspondence regarding relocation of sculpture to L.C. Curtis Farm and attempts to return sculpture to the University of Georgia campus.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia survey, 1993.

Athens Observer, March 3, 1983.

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

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System