Frank Mechau Jr.'s Wild Horse Race. Mechau
described some of the action here: "About twelve untamed
broncos are drafted out of the chutes to the race track.
A team of three cowboys ... attempt to saddle the frantic
creature and ride it around the track. One man tries
to control it with blindfold and halter, another
employs the effective, primitive device of biting
the horses ear." It's believed that Mechau created
this work for the Federal Art Project, a government
program that employed artists to provide art for
places such as courthouses, post offices and libraries.
Because this painting shares the same name as a mural
painted for Colorado's Glenwood Springs Post Office,
it's very likely the artist painted it under the
auspices of this federal art program. The simplified,
clearly delineated forms and bright primary colors
were easily adapted to painting on a large scale,
and Mechau's brand of abstraction was realistic
enough for subjects to be recognizable from a distance.
In this painting, as in Fletcher Martin's humorous
rodeo scene, the figures are faceless—perhaps the
message is that the hero could be any one of us.