Walking Lion; Striding Lion (Racing Trophy)
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Roger Ballu, Barye's first biographer, relates how In 1865, at the "Grand Prix de Paris," a horse race held at Longchamps, the French filly Fille de l'Air (Daughter of the Wind) defeated the English entry. He continues noting that Napoleon III personally presented this silver racing trophy to Count Frederic de Lagrange, the owner of the winning horse. Barye received a commission of 10,000 francs for this enlarged version of Walking Lion, a subject that had first been cast about 1840. The problem with Ballu's account is that Lagrange's Gladiateur won the Grand Prix in 1865 after having won the Triple Crown in England, being the first foreign horse to do so. The Fille de l'Air, a filly also owned by Lagrange, won the Epsom Derby in 1864. Presumably, the marble plinth with the inscription identifying Fille de l'Air as the 1865 winner was cut long after 1865, when a confusion arose as to the exact history of the event. La Fille de l'Air did win La Coupe, at Longchamp in 1865. It is a group 3 race.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
J. Montaignac; William T. Walters, Baltimore, January 30, 1885, by purchase [George A. Lucas as agent]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
2011-2012 | Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
2007-2008 | Untamed: The Art of Antoine-Louis Barye. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Palm Beach. |
2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
1985 | Bronze Animaliers. Arnot Art Museum, Elmira. |
1984 | The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1979 | A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, 1860-1909. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1889-1890 | The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. |
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
2/9/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
19 1/2 x 26 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. (49.5 x 67.9 x 22.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, 1885
Location in Museum
Hackerman House at 1 West Mount Vernon Place: First Floor: Parlor
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.167