The Circus Rider (L'Écuyère)

Artist A. Richard Ranft Swiss, 1862 - 1931

Date1898

MediumColor lithograph

DimensionsOverall: 15 15/16 × 11 3/4 in. (40.5 × 29.8 cm)
Matboard: 20 × 15 1/4 in. (50.8 × 38.7 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineThe Sparling Family Collection

Object number2025.1.61

On View

On view

SignedBottom right corner of print: "Richard Ranft"

MarkingsOn front bottom right corner of print: official blind stamp imprint of the head of a young woman

DescriptionColor print of a horsewoman at the circus. Coming in from the right-hand side, a woman leaps in front of the viewer on a horse. The horse is white with a green and white striped ribbon affixed at the top of its head. The saddle strapped to its midsection is a white piece of fabric with a yellow patterned edge and a green underside. The horse's head is down, and its two front legs are extended forward as if it is drawn mid gallop/jump. Riding atop the horse is a red-haired woman. She wears a light red dress, and her hair is in a knot at the top of her head secured with a green ribbon. She leans over the horse, with her proper left hand reaching down to hold the saddle, while looking out into the distance off to the right. Directly behind her, a white stool is placed within the yellow/orange background, and all that can be seen atop the stool are yellow shoes and black and white striped stockings. In the background to the left, two more performers stand with their heads facing one another while the bodies face forward. The figure to the left in the couple is bald, wearing an all-white outfit of a jacket and stockings. The figure to the right has red hair and wear a flowy red one-piece with a white ruffle collar at the neck and legs, yellow shoes, and a triangular white hat.

From L'Estampe Moderne. One of the more scarce lithographs in the series, it appeared in issue 12 of the first volume of L'Estampe Moderne.Exhibition History"French Prints from the Tobin Sparling Collection," The Hyde Collection, Hoopes Gallery, Feb. 14-July 26, 2026.ProvenanceEbay, Wentworth, Indianapolis; purchased by Tobin Sparling, Little Rock, Arkansas, December 17, 2009; given to The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, 2025.