Horse Weather Vane 1935 - 1942

This is an image of a horse weather vane of unknown date, made by an anonymous artist. I imagine the artist, working intuitively, hammered and shaped this metal form. You can almost feel the force and rhythmic clang of the mallet shaping the horse's form. I love how folk art collapses the boundary between art and life. This weather vane had a practical purpose, sure, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be beautiful. This artist probably wasn't thinking about art history, or about being in conversation with other artists, but you never know. Look at the horse’s tail—see how it splays out like an open hand? I feel a deep connection to this unknown maker. They made something beautiful, that’s for sure, and that beauty lives on.