Secretariat

An exquisite portrayal of the red horse that won the hearts of millions of fans. Secretariat is shown immediately after his Derby victory, bound for the winner’s circle and coveted blanket of roses. The great horse, still burning with excitement, surges forward against the restraints of his groom Eddie Sweat and jockey Ron Turcotte. The faces of the two men visibly beam with pride and exhilaration as they savor the moment, wanting it to last forever.

This piece was originally created as a companion to the artist’s Man O’ War sculpture to be included in the combined Man O’ War & Secretariat exhibition at the Kentucky Horse Park, Museum of the Horse, in Lexington.

The final piece available in the edition, pictured here, is the artist’s personal copy. This artist proof was created solely to serve as the maquette for the 2004 life-size piece at the horse park in Lexington, KY. Because it was to be used for the enlargement, it was finished differently in order to accommodate the requirements of the enlargement process. These differences reflect some practical and aesthetic changes the artist decided upon in the interim between the original sculpture and the life-size work.

Narrower bronze base, without an attached wood base.
No nameplate.
No edition number on base. It is number 5 in the edition but as a true artist’s proof, it stands apart from the previous pieces 1 thru 4.
No thumbprint on base. Because the life-size piece was to be placed on a concrete pad without a bronze base, various features of the maquette base were deemed to be unnecessary.
Does not have the horse’s white markings added like the other 4 in the edition. Instead, the markings are suggested by variation in the ferric nitrate patina as they are in the larger work.
No whip in the jockey’s hand. After the creation of the original work, Ron Turcotte had mentioned to the artist that, by that point, he had already handed it off to someone.
Leather lead is folded differently in groom’s hand.

Because of these differences, this piece is a much closer representation of the life-size work.