"Rocking Beauty" Hobby Horse
Decorative Arts and Design
On View: Decorative Art, 20th-Century Decorative Arts, 4th Floor
MEDIUM
Plywood, solid wood, pigment
DATES
designed 1964–1966
DIMENSIONS
20 1/4 x 25 1/4 x 11 3/4 in. (51.4 x 64.1 x 29.8 cm)
(show scale)
MARKINGS
On inside of rectangular wooden stop on bottom, impressed Co. logo at proper right: "CREATIVE/PLAYTHINGS/PRINCETON NJ"
ACCESSION NUMBER
2007.38
CREDIT LINE
Bequest of Laura L. Barnes and gift of Mrs. James F. Bechtold, by exchange
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
An abstracted child's rocking horse composed of two intersecting rectangular pieces of plywood, bent at opposing curves, the lower element slightly wider than the upper one, pierced at an angle by a solid wood shaft secured at the bottom of the lower bent rocking base element and extending through the upper plywood section, topped by a wood sphere painted bright red. A short, low, rectangular seat back attached to upper side of top ply element.
CAPTION
Gloria Caranica (American, born 1931). "Rocking Beauty" Hobby Horse, designed 1964–1966. Plywood, solid wood, pigment, 20 1/4 x 25 1/4 x 11 3/4 in. (51.4 x 64.1 x 29.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Laura L. Barnes and gift of Mrs. James F. Bechtold, by exchange, 2007.38. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.38_threequarter_PS1.jpg)
IMAGE
threequarter, 2007.38_threequarter_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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we welcome any additional information you might have.
We have this piece of art at home. Could you tell us more about it?
You are looking at the "Rocking Beauty" Hobby Horse by American artist Gloria Caranica.
In the past, this child’s rocking horse was often attributed to the influential American architect Philip Johnson. However, recent scholarship has revealed this to be a half-truth. In fact, it was the idea of another Philip Johnson, artistic director of the toy company Creative Playthings. He suggested it to Gloria Caranica, a recent graduate of Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute he had just hired.
Oh that’s surprising.