Nic Fiddian Green: Spiritus Equus Catalogue (softcover)

Since 2012, the magnificent sculpture, Still Water (2011), has graced the entrance of the NSLM’s Museum and been emblematic of the institution’s collections. To form the iconic 9-foot-tall horse head at water, artist Nic Fiddian Green (British, b. 1963) hammered sheets of lead securing them with copper rivets. For decades he has worked with a vibrant array of materials— not just shaping lead, copper, gold, and silver sheets; but also casting his early lead and bronze sculptures; hand-carving marble and semi-precious stones; and drawing with charcoals.

Although Fiddian Green’s chosen media has evolved, and sizes have ranged from diminutive to monumental over time, he has been driven by a constant and deeply rooted fascination with the spirit of the horse. Nic Fiddian Green: Spiritus Equus celebrates his vision with four monumental works installed in prominent outdoor locations, five medium-size works complementing the NSLM’s Still Water in the main first-floor gallery, and 18 sculptures and 7 drawings upstairs.The major exhibition is, in fact, the first retrospective of Fiddian Green’s equine subjects ever presented, with works created between 1983 and the present. Several have never been on public view before. The earliest sculpture, Transcription Project, 1983, dates to the origins of the artist’s preoccupation with the Classical horse. While attending Chelsea College, Fiddian Green visited the British Museum to work on an art transcription assignment. Upon seeing one of the Elgin Marbles, a broken-off horse head known as Horse of Selene from a pediment that adorned the Parthenon, Fiddian Green was struck by its form. Decades later in 2024, he noted in an interview for Equestrian Living magazine, “These Greek principals of perfection, harmony, and proportion, balance, and seamless craftmanship have stayed with me ever since.”