The Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West proudly announces the acquisition of Portal, a monumental bronze sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Deborah Butterfield. Created in 2023, the piece represents a significant addition to the museum’s collection and underscores its dedication to contemporary Western art.
Butterfield, celebrated for her evocative horse sculptures, continues her exploration of equine forms in Portal, blending realism with abstraction. The sculpture, standing over seven feet tall and modeled from driftwood sourced from Wyoming’s Shoshone River and Montana’s Gallatin River, was later cast in bronze. The transformation of delicate wood into enduring metal imbues the piece with both fragility and strength. Portal evokes the spirit and grace of a horse, its poised neck creating a sense of quiet engagement with viewers.
Described as a “duet between realism and abstraction” by Frank Goodyear, advisor to the Whitney Western Art Museum, Portal reflects Butterfield’s decades-long artistic journey. “Butterfield understands the horse’s anatomy in its most elemental sense,” Goodyear said. “Portal represents a lifetime of the artist’s pursuit to define something fundamental about life—about the horse.”
Susan Barnett, the Margaret and Dick Scarlett Curator of Western American Art, praised the sculpture’s dual qualities. “Portal is gentle, approachable, and powerful—a line drawing and a monument, a representational horse and an abstraction,” she said. The piece now takes center stage in the gallery, where its timeless beauty complements the museum’s extensive collection. “We are thrilled to share this incredible work with our community and visitors from around the world,” Barnett added.
Born in 1949, Butterfield rose to prominence in the 1970s with abstracted horse sculptures crafted from natural materials like mud and sticks. Over time, her work expanded to include welded steel, found objects, and bronze, yet her commitment to the horse as a central theme remained steadfast. Today, her works are celebrated worldwide for their emotional depth and masterful execution.
The acquisition of Portal was made possible through the William E. Weiss Memorial Fund and marks the museum’s first full-sized Butterfield sculpture. It joins a smaller Butterfield piece already on display, fulfilling a long-standing priority for the collection. Positioned at the intersection of the museum’s wildlife and landscape exhibits, Portal bridges thematic elements while offering a modern counterpoint to traditional equestrian sculptures.
Butterfield’s Portal invites visitors to reflect on the intersection of art, nature, and emotion. The sculpture will also be the focus of an artist talk by Butterfield at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in summer 2025, providing audiences with a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process and the making of this remarkable work.