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Horse art is a genre, respected only in modern times but
prevalent throughout history. From early cave paintings, the forming of
early house hold tools, burial tombs and ritual artifacts as well as
early jewelry, horses and artwork have traveled side by side through the
centuries along with the joined histories of this wonderful creature
with humans.
As the centuries passed, the works became more sophisticated along with the depiction of the form of
the animal, moving from abstraction to realism, to a time when many
art styles were and are readily available. The one thing constant in the creation of
this genre has been the feeling that motivated the artists, artisans and crafts people.
Not until the middle of the eighteen hundreds, relatively recent in the course of history, has the genre of depicting
the horse become accepted in the circles of fine art.
Prior to this century and even well into the century, famous artists whose imagination was captured by
this animal, and for whom the expression of this feeling naturally
found its way into their work, were called "horse artists" and the term was meant to be rather demeaning. |
However as the trend continued, and indeed some hugely talented artists who were also credited by the world as being vastly talented, did
paint and sculpt the equine as a subject, the opinion of the critics and collectors shifted to accommodate what was unstoppable anyway and such
expression became more widely
accepted as worthy of the time of the serious artist.
In truth, from the days of Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance, famous
artists were well-depicting various steeds in their life-time body of work. Degas, Reubens, Gerricault, Toulouse-Lautrec and so very many of the world's most famous, contributed to the ongoing
trend, long before such a term came
into usage. The sculptors did their part too, as most kings and any depiction of war included horses, not to mention the beginning of racing and sporting art that
was the real point at which such a subject for artworks became popular, if not yet highly rated.
By the time Patricia Crane was born, it was ok to draw, paint, and sculpt
the equine as a focus of a career in the arts and almost everyone was verbally admitting that the
motivation of all the centuries of human artists whose imaginations were captured by this incredible animal, was in the end result understandable, since
all along it was the very spirit of all horses, the essence of aliveness, grace, power and beauty that had always caused the outpouring of expression by all of the
artists in all of the many art forms they practiced and through which they expressed their own spirit. The once mostly unspoken, but always felt, age old partnership
between men and horses flourished in the arts and horse art and the value of the equine artist formed a niche - a genre that continues.
A few examples of artworks of Patricia Crane, which have spanned forty years or so to date, are offered below with links to the appropriate areas of this website:
Horse Art of Patricia Crane:
Sporting Art
The Sporting genre deals with the
Thoroughbred and the warmblood in
hunting, jumping, racing, etc.
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Western Art
The Mustangs and cowhorses of the American West have long inspired a
niche all their own . This mustang is shying from 2 quail.
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Saddlebred Art
The form and speed of the Saddlebred is of great beauty, speed and elegance.
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Compositional Sculpture -
Individuals at ease; two broodmares and a stallion.
Bronze has been the medium of choice
for sculptors through the ages and holds
the aliveness of
horses very nicely.
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Monumental
Sculpture for Museum.
The stallion Supreme Sultan is buried
beneath his bronze portrait which stands at the front doors of the Saddlebred Museum.
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Life Size Bronze for
Kentucky Horse Park:
Steps explained -- in the
creation of a bronze; for
the International Museum,
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Arabian Horses
The grace and beauty of the
Arabian, makes a perfect subject!
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Porcelain
Porcelain is yet another material with
a long history, that also lends itself to sculpting.
The form of Raku, in the porcelain area of the site,
is a rare form of ceramics!
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Resin
Resin is a very modern material and there are several resins to view in
this site section.
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Lithograph and Prints
Lithography is a respected method of
producing of high quality prints. The
litho shown is of rare value to the collectors
of Crane's work.
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Miniature Sculpture
Miniature toy soldiers have
been a favorite of collectors for years.
Only 3 and a half inches tall, this
set portrays a show ring victory pass.
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Supreme Sultan Pastels
The medium of Pastel
was used to depict horses
as long ago as the days of
Degas. A few commissioned
pastel portraits are shown on
the stallion, Supreme Sultan's page.
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To discuss a commission in bronze, a true to life sculpture-portrait by sculptor
Patricia Crane, email Patricia.
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