Foxcroft: The Art of Women & the Sporting Life Exhibit at National Sporting Library & Museum through August

The opening of the exhibit coincides with Women's History Month and the museum's March 15 "Side Saddle Symposium," which happens to include a presentation by Foxcroft trustee and past parent Penny Denegre. A champion side-saddle rider, Denegre is also featured in the Foxcroft exhibit, along with such other prominent women conservationist Gertrude Sanford Legendre, Foxcroft Class of 1920, and Cowgirl Hall of Fame member Helen Kleberg Groves '45, and alumnae relatives Phyllis Mills Wyeth, who owned 2012 Belmont Stakes champion Union Rags.

Also highlighted in the exhibit is the burgeoning success of female animal and sporting artists in the 20th century. Among the artists included are Jean Bowman, founder of the American Academy of Equine Artists; Heather St. Clair Davis; Eve Prime Fout, whose daughter Nina and granddaughter Caroline both graduated from Foxcroft; and Julia Jitkoff, Foxcroft Class of 1965. Additionally, works by other known artists such as N.C. Wyeth and Aiden Lassell Ripley depicting women in sporting pursuits collected by alumnae round out the exhibition.

Founded in 1954, the National Sporting Library and Museum has expanded to become a library, research facility, and art museum with over 26,000 books and works of art in the collections. It is dedicated to preserving, sharing, and promoting the literature, art, and culture of horse and field sports. The John H. Daniels Fellowship program supports the research of visiting scholars. The Museum, a newly renovated and expanded historic building on the Library campus, houses exhibits of American and European animal and sporting fine art. Information is shared through exhibitions, lectures, seminars, publications, and special events. The NSLM is open to researchers and the general public.