Woman on Horseback (Equestrienne)

model 1917, cast c. 1930/1931

Gaston Lachaise

Associated Names
Gaston Lachaise

Sculptor, French, 1882 - 1935

The sculpture depicts a nude woman seated on a horse. The woman is positioned sideways on the horse, with one arm resting on the animal. The horse is shown in mid-stride with its head bowed and raised tail. The sculpture is made of a material that appears to be bronze and has a rich, metallic brown color. The figures are smoothly modeled with a simplified, flowing form that emphasizes curves and elegance. The artwork is set on a simple oval base.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Weyhe Gallery, New York); purchased 1933 by Francis Biddle [1886-1968], Washington;[1] gift 1959 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art.

[1] The information about Biddle's purchase was given to Jennifer Wingate of the Corcoran by Virginia Budny, consultant to the Lachaise Foundation, Boston, in e-mails of 27 and 28 March 2007, in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1963

  • The New Tradition: Modern Americans before 1940, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 27 April - 2 June 1963, no. 58, repro.

1976

  • The American Genius: W.W. Corcoran, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 24 January - 4 April 1976, unnumbered catalogue.

1979

  • Vanguard American Sculpture, 1913-1939, Rutgers University Art Gallery, New Brunswick, New Jersey; William Hayes Ackland Art Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha; Oakland Museum, 16 September 1979 - 25 May 1980, no. 62, fig. 46.

1981

  • Center Ring, The Artist: Two Centuries of Circus Art, Milwaukee Art Museum; Columbus Art Museum, Ohio; New York State Museum, Albany; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 7 May 1981 - 6 June 1982, no. 57, repro.

1987

  • Modernist Idylls: Nature and the Avant-Garde, 1905-1930, Allentown Art Museum, Pennsylvania, 8 March - 3 May 1987, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1974

  • Nordland, Gerald. Gaston Lachaise: The Man and his Work. New York, 1974: 127-128.

Inscriptions

on top of the base, back left: G. LACHAISE / 1918; on vertical side of the base, behind the horse: ROMAN BRONZE WORKS NY

Markings

FM: Roman Bronze Works

Wikidata ID

Q63863969

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