The “Freedom Horse” bronze
statue that rests in the Hubbard Plaza was donated to Palm Desert
Campus by Dee & Joan Dale Hubbard. It was created by Western artist,
Veryl Goodnight who is a renowned painter and sculptor, and it is
one of five copies existing in the world today. The most famous copy
of the “Freedom Stallion” is part of the “Day the Wall Came Down”
Monument that sits where the Berlin Wall once stood in Germany. As a
group, the horses make up a statue called the “Freedom Horses,” and
the “Freedom Stallion” is seen leading the “Freedom Mares” over the
crumbling Berlin Wall.
The horses are
11/4 life-size. The entire piece, consisting of one stallion and
four mares, is 30 feet long, 18 feet wide, 12 feet high, and weighs
approximately 14,000 pounds. The real-life model for the stallion
was Rising Star, the horse Robert Redford rode in Electric Horseman,
and who later became his personal horse. The stallion is positioned
on the east side of the Wall herding his mares, who are crashing
through to the West and to freedom.
In describing her
bronze “Freedom Horses,” Veryl Goodnight says "My sculpture speaks
to the freedom of the human spirit over oppression," she says. "My
horses represent freedom, the [Berlin] wall represents oppression.
The message is one of peaceful resolution. To have it placed in a
location where inter-national diplomacy will be taught by Bush and
other world leaders is extremely important to me."
- Below: Veryl Goodnight working on the Freedom Stallion
Veryl Goodnight
Goodnight and her husband,
Roger Brooks, a former airline pilot, share their life in New Mexico
with four horses and an assortment of cats and dogs. Their animals
have used as models in her work. Goodnight is one of the foremost
sculptors of horses in the United States, with clients and
collectors worldwide. She is renowned for her monument-size work.
It's one thing to sculpt an object, human, or animal on a small
scale. It's another to make it larger than life, yet still accurate
in detail and proportion. Many of Veryl's large pieces grace the
entrances to buildings, museums, and residences throughout America.
Horses are a natural for Veryl Goodnight, whose pedigree includes
Charlie Goodnight, the legendary Texas cattle baron whose cattle
drives became part of our western heritage. Much of Veryl's work
reflects our history and highlights the pioneer spirit, particularly
that of women. "We forget their role in settling the American West,"
she explained.
The U S. Congress endorsed the
gift of one sculpture to Germany through a Concurrent Resolution
that also recognized the Berlin Airlift. The U.S. Air Force
transported the “Freedom Horses” to Germany. Goodnight wanted a
duplicate of the sculpture to be located in both Germany and the
U.S. Goodnight’s American casting was installed at the George Bush
Presidential Library on the campus of Texas A & M University in
College Station in November 1997. Veryl and her husband Roger
favored this location over others because former President Bush was
in office when The Wall was torn down. Because of Bush’s efforts to
unify West and East Germany, he is referred to in Germany as "the
father of German reunification."
Goodnight is also known for her
pioneer women series. About them she says, "The thrust of this whole
idea, starting with “Cares For Her Brothers,” was the animals
relationships to the women and the many types of women who came
West. I'm interested in women who are close to the animals and the
land. I focus on the 1800s, because animals were so integral to
daily life. Too many people today take animals for granted. I want
to make people more aware of their importance to our lives."
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