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Ceiling Clock & Foucault Pendulum
Horse & Racing Frieze
Click and drag to view a virtual panorama of the frieze. Need the Quicktime plug-in? Download it from Apple.
Surrounding the pendulum above the rotunda’s first floor is a frieze inspired by the concept of time as history rather than simply as seconds, minutes and hours. The frieze, painted by Mrs. Wichman, depicts the history of the horse in the Bluegrass. It features horse-breeds that have played an important part of life in our region: American Saddle Horses (a breed developed by Kentucky pioneers), Arabians, Hunters, Ponies, Working Breeds, Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds.
The frieze also depicts eight Lexington-area jockeys from the turn of the 20th century who won the Kentucky Derby. They are: Alonzo Clayton (1892), Oliver Lewis (1875), James McLaughlin (1881), Isaac Murphy (1884, 1890, 1891), James Perkins (1895), Willie Simms (1896, 1898), Fred Taral (1899) and Jimmy Winkfield (1901, 1902).