Horse Power

For more than 500 years, horses have been favorite subjects for artists and their patrons. In the prints, drawings, and artists’ books featured in this exhibition, horses take on many roles. They carry riders, propel vehicles, run freely through the landscape or within the confines of the race track, battle heroically, and sometimes fall tragically. They are servants, masters, partners, and victims. Just as humankind has attempted to tame the horse, the horse has transformed humankind, making us stronger, faster, more commanding. Artists have borrowed attributes of the horse to create new creatures, often endowed with magical powers. Though today horses are seldom part of our daily lives, they are rarely absent from our imaginations.