And Then, without Halting a Second, He Sprang into Space

Artist Charles Banks Wilson (American, 1918 - 2013)

Date1952

Mediumpen and ink on paper

Dimensions14 1/4 × 10 1/4 inches (36.2 × 26 cm)

Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2004

Object number11.173.89.C

ClassificationsPaper

DescriptionFinal ink drawing. Vertical ink drawing depicts a horse leaping off a cliff. At the top of the cliff, partially hidden by the cliff is a man on horseback.

Label TextWilson portrayed Starface, a wild horse, whose legend J. Frank Dobie related in his book The Mustangs. Ranchmen sought to capture or kill the horse that stole mares from them. At last, cowboys tracked Starface to a bench (a level strip of land) ninety feet above the Cimarron River. With “the madness of ultimate defiance in his eyes,” Starface made his last dash. Dobie concluded, “With him it was truly ‘Give me Liberty or give me Death.’” Wilson used ink lines to convey the energy of the horse’s leap and the implied result. The lines of the cliff walls make a V-shape pointing downward.

ProvenanceArtist; purchased June 20, 2004 by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

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