Monekana

Copied Deborah Butterfield, Monekana, 2001, bronze, 96 x 129 1⁄2 x 63 1⁄2 in. (243.8 x 328.9 x 161.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Art Forum, Mr. and Mrs. Frank O. Rushing, Shelby and Frederick Gans and museum purchase, 2002.3, © 2001, Deborah Butterfield

Artwork Details

Title
Monekana
Artist
Date
2001
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
96 x 129 1⁄2 x 63 1⁄2 in. (243.8 x 328.9 x 161.3 cm)
Copyright
© 2001, Deborah Butterfield
Credit Line
Gift of the American Art Forum, Mr. and Mrs. Frank O. Rushing, Shelby and Frederick Gans and museum purchase
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Animal — horse
Object Number
2002.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2002.3

Artwork Description

Deborah Butterfield's majestic horse is monumental in scale. Butterfield considered the animal's expressive postures in response to the natural world as metaphors for human experience. At first glance, the sculpture appears to be made of tree branches. It is, in fact, cast in bronze, with a patina that masterfully captures the textures and colors of the Hawaiian wood fragments the artist used to make the original maquette. Butterfield divides her time between a ranch in Montana and a studio space in Hawaii. Monekana is Hawaiian for the word Montana.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Commemorative Guide. Nashville, TN: Beckon Books, 2015.

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