Cowboy Boots

William Wilhelmi, Cowboy Boots, 1980, slip-cast, airbrushed-underglaze and glazed porcelain with gold lusters, left boot: 14 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ¹⁄₄ x 4 in. (36.2 x 26.0 x 10.2 cm) right boot: 14 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ¹⁄₄ x 4 ¹⁄₈ in. (36.2 x 26.0 x 10.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1981.107A-B

Artwork Details

Title: Cowboy Boots
Artist: William Wilhelmi
Date: 1980
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Luce Foundation Center
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4th Floor
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54A
Dimensions: left boot: 14 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ¹⁄₄ x 4 in. (36.2 x 26.0 x 10.2 cm) right boot: 14 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ¹⁄₄ x 4 ¹⁄₈ in. (36.2 x 26.0 x 10.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the artist
Mediums: rubber
porcelain
Mediums Description: slip-cast, airbrushed-underglaze and glazed porcelain with gold lusters
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Landscape — plant — cactus
Landscape — celestial — star
Landscape — weather — cloud
Landscape — desert
Object Number: 1981.107A-B
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1981.107A-B

Artwork Description

Bill Wilhelmi designed this pair of porcelain cowboy boots specifically for the Renwick Gallery show, American Porcelain: New Expressions in an Ancient Art. The artist was inspired to begin casting ceramic cowboy boots after seeing a collection of authentic footwear. This pair of boots is unique because it was the first that Wilhelmi modeled in porcelain. They were cast from an actual pair and as a result exhibit signs of aging in the creased porcelain at the ankles. The wing tips on the toes of the shoes, as well as the heels, are glazed with a gold luster, and the boots are airbrushed with an evening desert landscape.