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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
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Cowboy Boots
- Artist
- Date
- 1980
- Location
- 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 Description
- slip-cast, airbrushed-underglaze and glazed porcelain with gold lusters
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Landscape — weather — cloud
- Landscape — celestial — star
- Landscape — plant — cactus
- Landscape — desert
- Object Number
- 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.