Horse Head Hitching Post

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the National Gallery of Art's of American folk art! Vincent P. Rosel's *Horse Head Hitching Post (1935/1942) captures the whimsical charm of a classic 19th-century American decorative object. These sturdy posts, often cast in iron or carved from wood, dotted urban streets and rural properties, serving as both functional tie-ups for horses and eye-catching yard ornaments. Rosel's detailed rendering highlights the lively, expressive horse head—its alert ears, flowing mane, and sturdy posture—evoking a bygone era of horse-drawn travel. Created as part of the Index of American Design, a New Deal-era Federal Art Project (1935–1942), this work preserves vanishing traditions amid the Great Depression. Artists like Rosel produced over 15,000 precise illustrations of folk crafts, ensuring cultural heritage endured. Using watercolor and gouache for vibrant, opaque color, layered with graphite for fine lines, Rosel achieved a lifelike fidelity on paperboard (31.4 x 23.5 cm), blending artistry with documentary accuracy. This piece not only celebrates American ingenuity but also reflects pride in everyday craftsmanship, reminding us how ordinary objects shaped national identity. A delightful glimpse into history!

About the Artist

Vincent P. Rosel · 1855–present

Vincent P. Rosel is an artist about whom very limited documentation survives in the accessible art historical record. His dates, nationality, artistic training, and the scope of his career have not been definitively established in scholarly sources, placing him among the many figures whose names appear in collection records but whose biographies remain to be recovered. Where works attributed to R...