Dear Frances,
I have frequently received that question, but have never verified what "Ask Marilyn" has said. Quite the opposite.
On June 21, 1949, the BALTIMORE SUN (newspaper) ran an article titled "Monumental Error?"
I quote from the article:
"An army spokesman in Washington declared that [the idea of the horses feet signifying anything is] a popular but unsubstantiated rumor.
It is true... that the rumor pops up frequently, but there is nothing in army historical records to support it....The curators of the Baltimore
Museum of Art and the Walters Art Gallery pooh-pooh the idea. Said Marvin C. Ross of the Walters, Somebody made that up.'"
I have followed up and spoken with George Gurney, the Curator of Sculpture at our museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and he has no knowledge that the "leg position" is anything more than a popular fallacy.
I will certainly watch the postings for input from our colleagues.
Joan Stahl
Image and Electronic Resources Administrator
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Third Floor
Washington, DC 20560-0970
tel.: (202) 275-1542
fax: (202) 275-1707
email: [log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask] 08/01 5:59 PM >>>
Dear Fellow Arlis Members:
The column "Ask Marilyn" in the Sunday, July 15 issue of Parade, a
magazine insert in newspapers, featured a question: "One often sees
commemorative statues of soldiers mounted on horses with their
forelegs in various positions. Is there any significance to the
difference?" The answer stated "Yes, although some sculptors may be
unaware of the tradition or choose to ignore it. A historian at
Arlington National Cemetery explains that when both forelegs of the
horse are in the air, the rider died in battle. When only one foreleg
is raised, the rider died of his wounds afterward. And when all four
legs are on the ground, the rider later died of unrelated causes."
Does anyone know if this is in fact true? If so could
you please identify the historian and provide an explanation of the
background of this tradition with references to sources and
documentation?
Sincerely,
Frances B. Clymer
Librarian
McCracken Research Library
Buffalo Bill Historical Center
720 Sheridan Avenue
Cody, WY 82414
Phone: 307-578-4059
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please visit our website at: www.bbhc.org <http://www.bbhc.org/>
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