Luce Center Label

Bill Wilhelmi designed this pair of porcelain cowboy boots specifically for the Renwick Gallery show, American Porcelain: New Expressions in an Ancient Art. The artist was inspired to begin casting ceramic cowboy boots after seeing a collection of authentic footwear. This pair of boots is unique because it was the first that Wilhelmi modeled in porcelain. They were cast from an actual pair and as a result exhibit signs of aging in the creased porcelain at the ankles. The wing tips on the toes of the shoes, as well as the heels, are glazed with a gold luster, and the boots are airbrushed with an evening desert landscape.

Topic

Landscape\desert

Landscape\weather\cloud

Landscape\celestial\star

Landscape\plant\cactus

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Artist

William Wilhelmi, born Garwin, IA 1939

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist

Medium

slip-cast, airbrushed-underglaze and glazed porcelain with gold lusters

Dimensions

left boot: 14 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 4 in. (36.2 x 26.0 x 10.2 cm) right boot: 14 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 4 1/8 in. (36.2 x 26.0 x 10.5 cm)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Renwick Gallery

On View

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 54A

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor

1980

Type

Decorative Arts-Ceramic

Crafts

Object number

1981.107A-B