Eleanor Iselin Wade

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Eleanor Iselin "Winnie" Wade

Eleanor Iselin "Winnie" Wade was born on June 3, 1910, in New Rochelle, N.Y., to Arthur and Eleanor Jay Iselin.

A noted artist and horsewoman, she was raised at the family's historic home, Bedford House, in Katonah, N.Y. The first U.S. Supreme Court chief justice, John Jay, established Bedford Farm as his country residence in 1778 and it remained in the family for five generations until 1956 when it became part of the Taconic State Park Region after Eleanor Jay Iselin's death.

In 1913, at age 3, she received her first pony and drew her first horse at age 5. In elementary school, she learned basic plaster casting and began formal art classes as a child at the Grand Central Art School in New York City.

Completing her first commissioned work at the age of 17, she left the school in 1927 when she accepted an invitation to study at the Royal Academy of London when she won the Landseer Prize for her study, "The Breaking of a Horse." She also won the Prix de Rome and studied in Munich.

Although she was most recognized as a sculptress of Western art, she also worked in a variety of other art media. In addition, she illustrated numerous books, including the second edition of "My Friend Flicka."

From 1954 to 2000, she lived near Libby, Mont., where she managed the 4-W, a thoroughbred brood ranch. She actively bred and raced her horses on tracks in Washington and California. While keeping a low artistic profile on her ranch, she found an excellent foundry in Kalispell, Mont., and produced bronzes for her own personal enjoyment. She sometimes sold secondary castings by word of mouth and produced pieces for important thoroughbred owners.

In 1997, she exhibited her art at the Racing Museum in Saratoga, N.Y. The show traveled to other famous museums in the United States and abroad. Today her sculptures and her art are in numerous museums and private collections throughout the country.

This bronze casting is a portrait of Hope Mason (the artist's daughter at age one) it is 7 1/2" high and signed "E. I. WADE, ARTIST PROOF". In the exhibition catalog "Eleanor Iselin Wade: Artist and Horsewoman." (National Museum of Racing, 1997.) lists this sculpture as being created in plaster in 1937 and that one bronze casting was done at that time (in the collection of Mrs. Fred Pracht, Mechanicsburg, PA). A second casting was produced for the artist at Arrowhead Bronze and, at the 1997 catalog publish date, was in the artists collection. This second casting has the foundry mark of the outline of an arrowhead with the word "bronze" inside. The date of the second casting is unknown. The artist proof (illustrated here) of the image was produced as a gift for a friend by the artist (date unknown, most likely at the time of the second casting). The artist proof has been in my collection since 1994.

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