Haut École

Throughout his career, Simons specialized in animal statuettes, especially those depicting horses. His work embodies realistic exactitude and strong technical competence, the result of rigorous French academic training. "Haute Ecole" portraits a show horse elaborately schooled and groomed, with a braided forelock and mane and a decorative tuft on the bridle, for its role as a performer. The title refers to a kind of movement the horse is demonstrating, literally high school, or advanced dressage. The patina consists of high-quality silver. Its warmth was affected by careful rubbing, underscoring Simons’s interest in variations of surface color. The horse stands on a green marble base, four inches high, which the artist created especially for this delicate figure.

Credit: Gift of the artist, 1948