Abstract

Hundreds of horses went to Chicago for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Mustangs appeared in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Arabians performed in the similarly imaginary Wild East Show, Standardbreds raced in the Columbian Free-for-All in nearby Washington Park, and Clydesdales walked placidly from their stalls to stand before agricultural judges in the Livestock Pavilion. Horses also appeared in paintings exhibited in the Fine Arts Building, as sculpture decorating the fair’s buildings and grounds, and as photographic demonstrations of animal motion in the photographs of Eadweard Muybridge. This lecture will explore how the exhibition of animals at world’s fairs led to our expectations about how animals should be seen and exhibited today.