Though Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington is best known for creating several of New York City’s major equestrian monuments, small animal sculptures like Untitled (Donkey Braying) were the “bread and butter” of her artistic career and are just as formidable and persuasive as their large-scale counterparts. Details such as the flick of the tail, the flare of the nostrils, the flex of the ears, and the curvature of the neck communicate this donkey’s bellicose attitude.
This piece probably made its way to the Gallup Art Center as a donation by the artist toward a potential future permanent art museum, likely at the urging of fellow NYC-based artist Albert Lorey Groll, who himself donated five artworks to Gallup.
