Preserving America's and Colorado's Carousel Legacy
"Chief's Pride"
Lake
Minnequa Amusement Park Carousel, Pueblo Colorado Circa 1920,
now at Pueblo City Park, Photo Courtesy of George Williams.
For every child and the children of all ages
who have ridden carousels it is difficult to forget the exhilarating
experience of having taken a whirling ride within a menagerie
of animals moving in unison to music generated by brass instruments and
pipe organs.
Life before the Carousel ride was pure sense deprivation
by comparison to the experience a well oiled carousel gave us.
The carousel experience may have engendered the
fantasy of being Saint George ready to slay a dragon or of being
a cowboy in the countryside riding hard and burning leather, however
those of us who have ridden a carousel have been fortunate enough
to have had our senses stimulated and our minds set free
in the realm of the imaginary only to experience flights
of fantasy through the worlds of history and mythology.
The artistry imbued in the carousel has been the
catalyst and stimulus for innumerable flights of fancy never to
be completely forgotten.
Carousels are more than spinning
platforms moving to melodic brass and organ music, to ride
a carousel literally becomes an intoxicating magic carpet
ride into the world of fantasy where a person's heart and mind
can truly meet spirit.
The Magic Carpet Ride
Denztel Carousel at Venice Beach California,
a
carousel treasure lost in the 1924 Pier Fire
The Industrial revolution of the
late 19th and early 20th centuries and the artistic heritage
brought to Rural America from Europe spawned an era in which Carousels
became an enriched artistic expression and the creative synthesis
of the mechanical, musical and artistic influences.
The accelerated development of everything
mechanical in the early 20th Century combined with art and music
created the golden era of Carousels never
to be forgotten by those who have experienced the thrill
of a Magic Carpet Ride.
Bronze
Replica of Pueblo's City Park Carousel Third Row
Jumper,
by C.W. Parker Carousels Leavenworth Kansas.
Located at Children's Museum Pueblo
Colorado, Donated in Memory of Evelyn Lucille "Seal" Williams,
art work by Will Morton and Boyce Bronze
Casting year 2000. Photograph by Ione Miller
from "Pueblo an Illustrated History" By Eleanor
Fry and Ione Miller
The Bronze Sculpture was modeled after
a third Row Jumper on the
Pueblo
Carousel similar
to this C. W. Parker Jumper in the process
of
Restoration
in Leavenworth
Kansas at the C.W. Parker
This carousel horse is of the Jumper Theme
which traces its artistic origins to a style
of English Painting from the Early 19th century. The
pose
and attitude
of the horse was copied from these paintings depicting
English Jumpers. The Classical origins of this style can
be meaningfully linked to the English artist George
Stubbs
For costs and details of how to purchase a
similar sculpture click on the links provided in
the color photographs.
The story of the Pueblo Colorado community
efforts to conserve the heritage represented by the Lake Minnequa
Amusement Park Carousel can be closely linked
to the efforts of George Williams and Colorado
artist Will Morton.
You can read the following articles
about Lake Minnequa Amusement Park and the carousel
restoration efforts from the Pueblo Chieftain at the following
Links:
Many themes were used within the art of the
carousel some selected favorites are,
Menageries, The
Wild West, Chariots, Mythology and
Romance
Mythology
Ancient mythological themes often frequent
carousel art as mankind's association with the horse seems
to be ageless.
Above Scythians going into combat with their horses decorated
as Sacred Ibex, from a Greek attic pottery design dating to
550 BCE, reflects this ancient association. Scenes like this
from other myths and stories inspired numerous designs.
Jumpers
George Stubbs, ' Whistlejacket' , 1762. London,
National Gallery and " Lady Lade" 1793. Oil on canvas.
Royal Collection, UK
This theme was a favorite of many carvers
and the direct inspiration for
the C.W. Parker jumper.
Knights
and Maidens
Knights
Horse Photograph From "Painted
Ponies" see credits
below.
This horse is patterned after those
that carried 16th Century
Knights in Armour. This is what the horse of Joan of Ark, the
Maid of Lorraine may have looked
like.
Joan of Arc's horse
An
officer of Napoleon's Royal Guard
French
Cavalry Horse patterned
after painting By Theodore
Gericault of
French Cavalry Officer Circa
1812, Carousel horse Photograph
by William Manns From "Painted
Ponies" By William
Manns, Peggy Shank,
Marianne Stevens
(Contributor), Dru
Riley (Editor)
Marianne Stevens began collecting carousel
art over 40 years
ago. She first fell in love with the
carousels of Coney
Island. She is a leading authority on carousel art and its
history, and was a founding member of the American
Carousel Society and National Carousel Association.
Recommended Reading:
Painted Ponies can be purchased on line at
Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com
Click on the links provided below for information on the Video
Production about Colorado's Historic Carousel's
The C. W. Parker Jumper replica sculpture
illustrated on
this page was created by Colorado artist
Will Morton, Mold Making by Highland Studio, cast at
Boyce Bronze Casting, with
the Custom Graphics,
( Murphy Coat of
Arms, Monograms
and Columbines)
bronze finish work
and polychrome
Patina done By
Comstock Sculpture
Studio, and
decorative reins
done by seamstress
Cathleen Lish becoming
an artistic collaboration of outstanding beauty.
Will Morton has spent 27 years
of his career
involved with the restorations of various carousels throughout
Colorado.
The art is entitled "Chief's Pride" in
honor of George Williams whose career of public service in
Pueblo and whose association with the Colorado Carousel Association and
the American Carousel Association has been instrumental in
the restoration of carousels in Colorado.
NOTE: Bronze sculptures have an expected useful
life of approximately 6,000 years, this collectors item is
truly a legacy for the ages.
For information about how to purcahse the
art Call: (303) 657 9778 Studio: (720) 351 8864 or
E-mail: chester058@artsales.com
