1905 Solon Borglum "Horse Grazing" Bronze
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GUEST:
Well, this bronze that I brought in belonged to an uncle of mine that got it from Henry Farny. Henry Farny needed money and borrowed from my uncle and, in exchange, gave him some paintings, this bronze, a rifle, another sculpture thing, and we ended up with it through the estate.
APPRAISER:
Well, Farny the Western painter and Solon Borglum, who did the sculpture, were both artists represented at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
They have a really rich local history. Solon Borglum, I don't know if you know too much about the artist. Gutzon Borglum, his better known brother.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So Solon Borglum was the younger brother. Parents were Danish immigrants, grew up in the West, spent time in Nebraska as a child. Then came to Cincinnati to study art here. In the mid to late 19th century, Cincinnati was sort of a strong city for art. So there was a lot happening here, and a lot of highly talented people at work. So he spent time here, and then he moved. He went onto Paris, went onto New York. And really sort of set his mark as an artist who really embodied sort of the frontier spirit. And that, again, ties very well with Cincinnati's gateway to the frontier in the 19th century. The horse is great. It's just very expressive. He looks tired.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
The title of the work is "Horse Grazing." And we can see where it's signed in the back here, clearly. And it also has... the foundry is Roman Bronze Works in New York, who did a lot of very prominent art bronzes in the turn of the century. This is cast in 1905. I think in today's market, a very desirable piece for auction. If I were to place an estimate on it, I would say between $20,000 and $30,000.
GUEST:
That's amazing because through the estate, I only paid $2,000. And shortly after I got it, our house was broken into. They took several different things, this being one of them, which they dropped in the front yard.
APPRAISER:
Wow. It's in great condition, despite its tumble on the lawn. It's... the surface is in good condition, the patina's nice.
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