Mazza Museum to unveil 'Storm of Horses'

FINDLAY — The University of Findlay will unveil its new exhibit, "A Storm of Horses: The Art of Ruth Sanderson," on Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Mazza Museum. Author/illustrator Sanderson will present her equine-themed work at an opening ceremony from 6-7 p.m., followed by book sales and autographing in the Mazza Gift Shop. The exhibition will feature Sanderson's original art, with pieces ranging from storyboards and preliminaries to published oil paintings. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about Sanderson's subject matter, 19th-century French painter Rosa Bonheur and enjoy a campus visit to UF's equestrian program. Her book explains how Bonheur's masterpiece, "The Horse Fair," propelled her to become an artist with paintings in museums and galleries worldwide. "Ruth created an inspiring picture book telling the story of Rosa Bonheur, who wanted to be a famous painter in the 1800s, at a time when female artists typically painted scenes from family life," Director of Mazza Museum Dan Chudzinski said in a release from UF. "But Rosa was committed to capturing the unbridled wild beauty of horses." Sanderson graduated from Paier School of Art in Connecticut, and created her first oil painting of a horse when she was 14 years old. After visiting the Mazza Museum in 2022, Sanderson felt that her equine-themed illustrations should become a part of the museum's permanent collection. Sanderson has more than 90 published children's books. She illustrated the first paperback covers for "Black Stallion" and many other chapter book horse stories, including the Horse Diaries series. Recently, she created the book "Drawing Horses," a guide to drawing realistic horses for aspiring artists ages 8 and older. "Ruth loves to share her artistic techniques to inspire other horse-loving young artists," Chudzinski said in the release, adding that she will be presenting to students from Arlington and Ridgedale schools earlier that week. The "Storm of Horses" exhibition and event are part of UF's Homecoming celebration from Oct. 9-12. The celebration is also meant as a prelude to the University's equestrian studies program's 50th anniversary, to be celebrated in 2026.