The Torch Bearers

Artist Anna Hyatt Huntington (American, 1876 - 1973)

CultureAmerican

Datemodeled 1953, cast 1956-57

MediumCast aluminum

DimensionsOverall: 266 x 12 1/2 in., 54400.97 oz. (675.6 x 31.8 cm, 1542240 g.)

InscribedInscribed on base: Anna Hyatt Huntington; Stanerigg 1953 ©

Credit LineGift of the artist to the City of Norfolk

Object number57.001

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Museum Grounds

DescriptionThis is a very large cast aluminum sculpture of two nude male figures and a horse. There are two men, one is astride a horse, and one is on the ground. The horse has its left front leg up and ready to run as the rider leans over to take the torch from the hand of the exhausted and fallen man, nearly face down on the ground as he clings to a boulder. The musculature of the men is specific and accurate. The motion and movement of the men and horse is visible from all sides.

Label TextAnna Hyatt Huntington American, 1876–1973 The Torch Bearers, modeled 1953, cast 1956–57 Cast aluminum Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of the artist to the City of Norfolk 57.001 ProvenanceGift of the Artist to the City of Norfolk, 1957. Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. Published ReferencesDoris E. Cook, _Woman Sculptor: Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973)_ (Hartford, Conn., 1976), 15, 28. Dennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 193. Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 198-199, no. 125. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 77, fig. 87. Don Harrison, "Art Unveiled," _Coastal Virginia Magazine,_ April 2014, front cover.