July 12 - September 7, 2008

This exhibition features the horse as it has appeared in diverse cultures over the past 3,000 years. With works drawn primarily from the Museum’s permanent collections, you’ll experience the beauty, strength and vitality that the horse has inspired in the work of artists and craftsmen throughout history.

Highlights of the exhibition include spectacular 7th to 4th-century B.C. Greek vases depicting the horse in battle, mythology and every day life of the ancients, Asian masterpieces including Ming and Yuan dynasty scroll paintings and rare ivory and jade sculptures. A special feature of he exhibition is the Museum’s unique collection of Renaissance armor for the horse, one of the most outstanding in the United States. Sculpture in the exhibition ranges from the work of renowned 19th-century French animal sculptor, Antoine Barye to the contemporary work of Deborah Butterfield, and sculptors of the American West.

One of the world’s most beloved animals, the exhibition also includes whimsical recreational uses of the horse including folk art, carousel horses and cast iron horse-drawn fire engine toys. Paintings in the exhibition include the famous Napoleon Crossing the Alps from the studio of Jacques Louis David and an extremely rare Sioux, hand-painted buffalo robe. A special “Berks Collects” section of the exhibition features a delightful array of decorative arts from weathervanes to hobby horses loaned from local private collections.

This exhibition is presented by Penn National Gaming, Inc. and Susquehanna Bank.

Horsin' Around Family Day - August 9, 2008

In collaboration with the Greater Reading Convention and Visitors Bureau and The Berks Equine Council’s 2008 Jumper Show, “Art of the Ride Weekend” the Museum will host “Horsin’ Around Family Day” on August 9, 2008 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Candace Perry, curator at the Schwenkfelder Museum and Library and expert on equine art, will give a special talk. Other activities on this fun-filled day will include: pony rides, family guides, storytelling, and refreshments. The Museum is open free to the public on this day.

The Reading Public Museum is supported in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Images, from top: Adolf Schreyer, German, 1828-1899, Arab Horseman, oil on canvas, Reading Public Museum, Pennsylvania;