The more I learn about the history of model horse figurines, the more I am amazed at the skill of the artists who create them, particularly handmade horse figurines. The horse figurines I'll share in this post predate the organized nationwide model horse hobby by several years.
Which of us has not visited the International Museum of the Horse and the Saddlebred Museum in Lexington, Kentucky (perhaps during BreyerFest), only to come away wishing we owned a handmade horse by Calvin Roy Kinstler or Francis Eustis like the ones on display?
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Saddlebred by Calvin Roy Kinstler,
at the American Saddlebred Museum, Lexington, KY |
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Some of the Horses of the World, by Francis Eustis,
at the International Museum of the Horse, Lexington, KY |
And many current collectors recall wishing they could afford a handmade horse by Idaho artist Virginia Orison, who advertised her work in Western Horseman and other horse magazines.
Back in their day, works by artists like Orison, Kinstler, and Eustis were not often found in a child's collection; rather, they were considered art or craft objects collected by adults, to be displayed in the home library, den, or mantlepiece.
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Arabian by Virginia Orison.
Author's personal collection. |
Predating Orison was another female equine artist, Fannie (Lamberson) Branson (1881-1965) of Oregon, whose covered balsa wood horse creations drew a great deal of public attention between the 1930s and 1960s.
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| Bend, Oregon Bulletin, 18 October 1952. |
Branson's work is not often found "in the wild," but occasionally we do hear of examples. Horsewoman Nancy Ecklund contacted me asking for information on Fannie Branson, because she owns an amazing model horse with handmade tack by Branson. She gave me permission to show her photos of the horse in this blog post.
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Buckskin horse by Fannie Branson. Balsa wood, probably with calfskin covering
and angora goat hair mane and tail. |
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| It even has a dorsal stripe! |
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| Branson marked her creations with tiny metal plaques on their undersides. |
Other examples of Branson's horses are in the collection of the Lincoln County, Oregon Historical Society Museum. The Lincoln City News-Guard published a story in 2016, with this photo.
The Nelson Museum of the West in Cheyenne, Wyoming also owns two examples of her work.
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Source: The Nelson Museum of the West's
public Facebook page. |
The Lincoln County Museum shared this good summary of Branson's life and horses, with photos, on its public Facebook page.
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Source: the public Facebook page of the Lincoln
County Historical Society, Newport, Oregon |
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Fannie (Lamberson) Branson was born in Cow Valley, Oregon in 1881. She was raised on a ranch in Malheur County where she learned horsemanship riding herd and honed her whittling skills. Branson shattered her hip at an early age when her horse tumbled on top of her and suffered from chronic pain and reduced mobility for the rest of her life.
This accident didn’t slow her down. Fannie married Jay Branson in 1903 and by 1935 they were operating the nation’s first Roquefort cheese factory in Scio, Oregon. They later moved to Agate Beach where Branson started a business selling intricate miniature horses she carved by hand. They eventually opened a museum where Branson displayed her work, which in 1951 alone had over 6,000 visitors.
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Source: the public Facebook page of the Lincoln
County Historical Society, Newport, Oregon |
Branson’s horses sold well, and they appeared in collections around the world. As Branson once told a local reporter, “…something that kept me from feeling sorry for myself for being crippled became a full-time business…”
When her health began to fail in 1964, Fannie arrived at the hospital with a small suitcase of model horse parts to work on. Today her 600-800 masterpieces are scattered across the globe, and we are happy to have her work in our collection.
Source: the public Facebook page of the Lincoln
County Historical Society, Newport, Oregon |
I read through a number of newspaper articles that were published during Branson's active years as an artist. They all say the bodies of the horses were made of balsa wood, but the other materials she used varied over time.
In 1939, when Branson was living in Scio, Oregon, an article in the Salem Statesman-Journal gave this description of the horses themselves. Over the course of her career, Branson had changed the materials she used to make her horse figurines:
Branson also made the tack for the models.
Branson's model horses were very popular with local buyers.
In 1940, the Albany, Oregon Democrat-Herald reported on the Lebanon Garden Club's annual show, which expanded its horizons to include the work of local artists. The article described Branson's use of natural materials.
In 1945, the Rock Island, Illinois Argus ran an article on another artist who was inspired by Branson's work. Heloise Hopson of Agate Beach, Oregon, had given up her job in a retail store to make covered wagons in Branson's studio.
In 1946, the Spokane, Washington Spokesman-Review ran a short feature on Branson's work with photos of a variety of equine subjects, including a mule.
In March 1952, the Eugene, Oregon Guard newspaper published a feature story on Branson with more pictures.
As the Lincoln County Historical Society website said, Branson and her husband set up a museum to display her work in Agate Beach, Oregon. Postcards and matchbooks helped promote it.
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Front of postcard from Fannie Branson's miniature horse business,
showing a Pinto with Western tack. (Source: eBay) |
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| Source: eBay. This matchbook sold for less than $4.00. |
Despite its initial success, the museum folded, and in 1954 newspapers reported that the building was remodeled to accommodate three local businesses. But she kept creating her unique horse figurines.
When Branson passed away in 1965, the Salem, Oregon Capital Journal ran an obituary that summarized her life and work.
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