50s interiors: Horse motifs everywhere
I find it fascinating that primitive horse themes were so popular in the 50s and 60s. Why? To be sure, there was a sense of internationalism about modern interiors. Did these horse motifs evolve from Spain…or the prehistoric cave painting in Lascaux, France (at left) – as this 1959 interior (above) seems to clearly reference? Does this all start with Picasso? And, the horses are also very associated with the Danish Modern movement. Wherever the idea came from, they are wonderful.
Additional posts on international influences:
A RetroRenovation re-run: This post originally ran on Feb. 26, 2008
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Comments
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My grandparents actually had a cave painting motif in their basement near their fire place. It was VERY similar to the one in the picture. Now I need to find out WHY the had it… I’ll let ya know!
I have to tell you I’m so excited I found your site today. My website is on housing and decorating trends, but I love retro and work in posts about retro rooms whenever possible. A few days ago I posted photos from a Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book published in 1956 that featured horse and jockey wallpaper. I didn’t realize that horses were a regular motif of the ’50s decorator (the ones in my photo weren’t primitive like yours, but apparently horses of any sort were popular!).
I will be updating that post tonight to add a link to yours and just wanted to let you know (the post is here if you want to see it: http://hookedonhouses.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/the-1950s-kitchen/ ).
I’ve bookmarked your site and will be back often. Thanks! -Julia K
Hi,
I’ve also noticed that the use of HORSE imagery coincides with phases of greater interest (for US) with the increase of HORSE POWER in cars. The 20’s-30’s and the 50’s-60’s are prime examples.
Ronn.
Equine art is very popular in Lexington KY, of course! Much of what you see in homes is in the forms of prints of realistic racing scenes or horses grazing in pastures. But some artists create works in the spirit of these cave paintings — abstract, with lots of movement and intensity.
Just this very week there was a TV program on a Louisville artist (I will try to dig up her name, I can’t remember it) who specializes in painting horses in this style. She said that her aim was to capture the energy of the horses rather than their actual appearance. Her comment seems to tie in with what Ronn Ives said regarding horse imagery and horse power in cars. Maybe in the 50s such paintings were a way of demonstrating the energy and enthusiasm of the times.
Hi. I finally found the name of the artist I mentioned earlier. She is Kate Esplen, and her interesting work can be found at http://www.kateesplen.com.
I find that Brady Bunch horse statue in different variations on sitcoms from the 50’s -70’s.
Not really into horses but LOVE this room and furnishings etc..
Robert
I’m going to go way out on a limb here and offer my own little interpretation of the popularity of the horse motif. I may be totally off the mark, or I may not.
The 1950s were a period of prosperity and rising affluence, one of social mobility and fulfilling “the American dream” of working hard and being rewarded with the material riches previously associated only with the truly wealthy. Families that had never owned their own house were newly able to do so in the 1950s. Likewise automobiles became accessible to ever larger numbers of people. And Cadillacs, previously owned mostly by the Park Avenue set, suddenly became visible in the suburbs. Recall Don and Betty Draper’s pride … and the neighbors’ envy … when he brought home the new blue Cadillac on “Mad Men.”
Recall also Betty Draper taking riding lessons with her friends. And for those lessons, she dressed up in the entire outfit, an outfit more commonly seen on Jacqueline Kennedy or the British aristocracy.
I therefore have to wonder if the fascination with horses was perhaps another way of reaching for the material symbols of wealth. Really “rich” people kept horses, rode horses, and dressed in horse-riding clothes. So if a suburban housewife could buy the riding clothes and take riding lessons, she could convince herself for those few hours that she too was “rich,” even if she could not afford to build a stable behind the house and convert a corner of the backyard into a paddock. She might not be able to take the brass ring home, but she could certainly hold it for a while.
And I have to suspect that there was a certain eliminate of that metaphorical holding of the brass ring attached to the abundance of horse motifs in decorating. By utilizing horse murals and sculptures and patterns, even the modest suburban middle-class could lay claim to being a member of “the horsey set,” even if only in their own mind. Perhaps horse motifs in decorating in the 1950s were the equivalent of the modern Ralph Lauren horse-motif design label, a label deliberately intended by its creator to make his customer feel wealthier and more upwardly mobile socially.
Very interesting theory, PSS!
I have a new appreciation for the brown ceramic group of running horses my grandma made in ceramics probably late 1950s. My parents still proudly display theirs (along with a danish modern dining room set in walnut) on the wall of their dining room. All my life there have been those horses on the wall – both at home and at my grandparent’s house (which was a pink mid-century modern house). I like them better now.