The Chris Hess Papers: History is Meant to be Shared

I apologize that this has taken me much longer to write than I had originally planned, but I wanted to tell Chris Hess' story to the best of my ability. As Breyer's primary sculptor for nearly 40 years, Hess' work shaped and influenced our hobby in a multitude of ways. His story is important because he was so much more than "just" a model horse sculptor---he was also a draftsman, a wood carver, a mold maker, a problem solver, an innovator, and more. Not surprisingly, the research for this post led me down all sorts of interesting sidetracks and rabbit holes that I want to follow, and I will do my best to share all of the neat connections I found as coherently as possible, if not in this post, then in subsequent follow ups. 

The impetus for this tale began last year not long after Erin Corbett and her Volo Artem team purchased Stone Horses (formerly the Peter Stone Company). Peter entrusted Erin as the new keeper of several boxes full of the company's historical paperwork, some of which had once belonged to Breyer and Stone artist Chris Hess. (For those unaware of the history, Peter is the son of Sam Stone who co-founded the Breyer Molding Company in 1943, and Peter worked for and later owned the company until it was bought out by Reeves International in 1984. When Peter eventually left Breyer in 1996 to start his own company, the first piece his new company produced was a Chris Hess sculpture that Breyer had rejected.) 

Pretty much every collector knows that Chris Hess sculpted the majority of Breyer's models from the very beginning of the horse and animal line in 1950 until his death in 1988. In that span of nearly 40 years, Hess sculpted 100 horses for Breyer (74 Traditional, 19 Classics, and 7 Little Bits) as well as 27 animal molds (if I counted correctly). He also sculpted at least two more horses that were rejected by Breyer and later produced by Stone, the rearing horse Trouble and the landing Jumping Horse. While the many Breyer horses he sculpted are probably his greatest legacy, he sculpted a number of other interesting pieces "including the children’s riding toy known as the 'Wonder Horse,' Santa Claus figures, [and] art and advertising pieces. Christian was [also] the sculptor and mold maker responsible for many of those familiar plastic pink yard flamingos." (1) 

There are many, many spring horses called the Wonder Horse,
so I'm not sure which one Hess sculpted, but this is a very
early example from the late 1940s.

Christian Fritz Hess was born in Chicago, IL, on August 6, 1916. While there isn't really any information available about Hess' childhood, we do know he studied at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago. And this is where the first rabbit hole appeared for me. One of the very first things that grabbed my attention while looking through Hess' papers with Erin was a series of very old pages from the classic animal anatomy book Handbuch der Anatomie der Tiere für Künstler stamped "Property of Elizabeth Haseltine." The name was immediately familiar, but it took me a moment to remember why. Naturally, the sculptor Herbert Haseltine came immediately to mind. He created the magnificent bronze of Man O' War that stands atop that great horse's grave at the Kentucky Horse Park. But then it clicked. Not far from the University of Chicago, my alma mater and employer, is a statue of a sleeping fawn by Elizabeth Haseltine. I pass it regularly while walking or cycling on the lakefront path in nice weather, and I remember being curious a few years ago to find out if she was related to Herbert (as best I can tell, she was not). 

Haseltine's fawn a top the David Wallach Fountain at 
Promontory Point in Hyde Park, Chicago

Elizabeth Haseltine was a remarkable sculptor known for her exquisite animals. The Chicago Tribune's art critic described her work as "delicate, true, simple, and fascinating." (2) Elizabeth studied and later taught at the University of Chicago and worked closely with fellow artist Lorado Taft at his famed Midway Studio on campus. It's a five minute walk from my office, and it's happily still in use as an art space. Elizabeth also then took a teaching position at the Art Institute of Chicago downtown, and I think it's quite probable that Hess was one of her art students. I'm sure she must have given him the pages of the animal anatomy book while he took her classes.

I could write a whole post just about Haseltine and Taft and how their work has been in the background of my everyday life for the last 25 years, but that's probably more navel-gazing than anyone really cares for. Suffice it to say, the work of Haseltine and Taft can be found around the university and in many places elsewhere in the city as well. They are two of the most significant and influential sculptors in Chicago history, so that should give some perspective as to the importance of the artistic tradition that Hess trained up in. 

Hess was not a horse person per se when he began his career with Breyer although he had obviously studied animal anatomy with Haseltine. After leaving the Art Institute, he worked as a commercial artist, a wood carver, and a designer of decorative architectural elements for buildings before serving in the Navy during World War II. When he returned home to Chicago, his talents eventually led him to mold making and a career with the Breyer Molding Company in 1950. (3) Hess sculpted the Breyer Western Horse, their very first model horse, and tooled the mold for it as well. (4) I love this quote from a recent article by Jocelyn Cote that Breyer posted about Chris Hess' work for them:

"Chris had a unique perspective that no other Breyer artist in history has had – not only was he a sculptor, but he was also Breyer’s main tooling engineer. Working alongside two other craftsmen, Paul Olson and Gordon Johnson, they created the injection molds (referred to shorthand as “tools”) from which all Breyer models created on those original sculptures have sprung. The tool that molded your 75th Anniversary Western Horse model, for example, is the very same tool engineered by Chris and his team all those years ago – and that same tool also molded the original palomino #57 models that adorned the Mastercrafters clocks. When you hold any model sculpted by Chris Hess in your hands, you are quite literally touching Breyer history." (5)

That gives me goosebumps. It's so remarkable that the original tooling not only still exists but also still works after 75 years. It's also incredible to me that Hess not only was an excellent sculptor, but he also had the engineering skills to design and tool the molds to cast his work. 

Hess' earliest designs for Breyer were technically copies of pieces produced by other companies---the Western Horse and Pony were derived from the Hartland Victor, and the Boxer was a direct copy molded from the porcelain Boehm Boxer. By the mid-1950s however, Hess began to create sculptures that were entirely his own. One of the earliest of these was Lassie, the beloved TV show Collie. Amongst the papers left with Stone were four promotional photos of the real dog, including this one bearing sculpting notes in Hess' hand.

While the archive of Hess papers held by the Stone company is in no way the entirety of his inspirational source materials, it is full of fascinating gems. He kept examples of work by other prominent equine artists such as Marilyn Newmark and Jeanne Mellin Herrick.

There were also a number of images of lynxes, both photos and sketches by another artist. I would guess they were part of a group of references Hess used for the wildlife series he created independently of Breyer in the 1980s. I'll share a couple of those images here, but I will definitely need to write a whole post about the wildlife series to do it all justice.

The most interesting papers are of course the ones related to Breyer designs. The majority of the pages are photos that Hess worked from to create his sculptures. As you'll see, he had an incredible gift for translating a 2D image into a highly accurate 3D sculpture. One of the earliest photos in the collection is this handsome Morgan horse. While Hess' Stretch Morgan mold wasn't an exact replica, this photo certainly influenced the pose and possibly the markings. 

The next image was that of a black Angus bull. He should look familiar. I love all of the sculpting notations. 

There are a number of reference pages for the real Andalusian horses Hess used as references for Legionario III and the Classic Andalusian Family. (I will probably break this out into another post about the Garrison Ranch and their horses eventually.) Once again, Hess' notes on these pages absolutely give me goosebumps. 

The reference for Legionario's pose

The source for the Classic Andalusian Mare---the pose and the 
flow of the mane and tail were captured pretty perfectly by Hess

An article about Galiceño ponies includes a photo that likely inspired Hess' pony. 

This quadruple exposed photo shows US Equestrian Team and dressage champion Keen performing the half-pass. While Hess ultimately sculpted Keen in a cantering pose, it's fun to see his references all the same. 

There were also two similar photos of the great pacer Dan Patch. Breyer ultimately released him on the Pacer mold in 1990, but I can't help but wonder if a standing model was considered, possibly before Adios was released. 

The archive also contained a photo of Phar Lap torn from a 1984 issue of the Blood-Horse as well as a movie still from the 1983 movie about the champion racehorse. Hess' sculpture of the Red Terror was sculpted in a different phase of the gallop so it could stand, and it was released in 1985. While he had already engineered two smaller models, the classic scale Hobo and Polo Pony, to balance on one leg in a base, both were prone to warping, and duplicating the pose in the famous photo below was not something Breyer would be able to tackle successfully for another 20 years.

According to Peter Stone, Hess worked primarily from photos (and sometimes illustrations), and he rarely visited his subjects in person. So I was really excited to find a few of his sketches amongst the photos. There were several of wood barns that collectors will recognize as releases from the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

But the real gem was this sketch of Stud Spider, actor James Brolin's champion racing Appaloosa. It's always fascinating to me to see another artist's process, so Hess' notes about corrections for his in process sculpture are fascinating.

Hess may not have been a horseman when he started working for Breyer, but he certainly developed an eye for equine anatomy and the distinctions between breeds from Shetland Ponies to Belgians to Thoroughbreds and everything in between. In the years since his death, more horse-oriented artists have taken up the reins and have sculpted more anatomically correct models for the Breyer line, but there is no denying the timeless appeal of Hess' work. Models like Lady Phase, the Clydesdale Mare, Adios, the walking Shire, and the Cantering Welsh Pony remain fan favorites even though they're all around 50 years old now. I personally love the classic scale Black Stallion Returns set and the all of the Little Bits molds. They were some of my childhood favorites, and I still have a huge soft spot for them.

There are more interesting papers from the years after Chris passed that tell some of Peter Stone's story, some early BreyerFest tidbits, and his new venture at the helm of Stone Horses. I'll share those in a subsequent post since this one is already quite long. 

I also plan to start revamping my Model Horse History site in the next few weeks so I can start uploading the many model horse references I've collected over the years, including these from Chris Hess' collection (and more). I strongly feel that our collective hobby knowledge and resources should be shared freely. Making them available to all hobbyists is the best way we can learn and preserve our hobby's history.

As always, thanks for reading!


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1) Quoted from a transcription of a flier given out to attendees of the first Peter Stone company breakfast held during BreyerFest 1997, https://breyerhistorydiva.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-chris-hess-flier.html

2) https://www.hydeparkhistory.org/blog/hyde-park-stories-david-wallach-fountain

(3) Young, Nancy Atkinson. Breyer Molds and Models: Horses, Riders, and Animals 1950-1997. (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1999), pg. 334.

4) https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/collecting/chris-hess-the-soul-of-breyer-animal-creations?srsltid=AfmBOop3umhPuns8ApwBpMuVnjCHNePvoI4A2MArstBeWaDFZs2ATaF5

5) Ibid

Misty of Chincoteague and the 100th Anniversary of Pony Penning Day

Today, Wednesday, July 30th, happens to be the 100th anniversary of Pony Penning, the annual round up of wild ponies on Assateague Island and their swim across the narrow channel to Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia. The round up and subsequent auction of some of the ponies are undertaken to help control the population size of the Assateague herd, and the auction benefits the local volunteer fire brigade. So this feels like an excellent day to celebrate Misty, the most famous Chincoteague Pony of all time.

Misty and Marguerite Henry, photo from mistysheaven.com

If you were a horse crazy kid like me, you probably read every horse book you could get your hands on. Literary equines like the Black Stallion, Sham, Phantom, Harlequin Hullabaloo, Mokey, and the Crumb fired my imagination, and I have a soft spot for the many model horses inspired by my childhood storybook favorites. Not surprisingly, Marguerite Henry's horse stories were in regular rotation on my reading list.

Misty of Chincoteague is probably the best-known and most-beloved of Henry's books. First published in 1947, it tells the story of Paul and Maureen Beebe, orphaned siblings who are raised by their grandparents on Chincoteague Island. Paul is determined to capture the elusive mare The Phantom in the upcoming Pony Penning Days event. Despite a few hiccups and set-backs, Paul does manage to round up The Phantom, and he and Maureen are eventually able to buy her and the new filly at her side, a palomino tobiano they name Misty. In truth, the book is more about The Phantom and Paul's attempts to train her than it is about Misty. Ultimately, the children release The Phantom back to her wild herd when they realize she's unhappy in captivity, but Misty remains with the Beebes.

The real Misty was actually born on Chincoteague in 1946 at the Beebe's pony farm. Marguerite Henry visited Chincoteague that same year for Pony Penning hoping to find inspiration for a new book. She fell in love with a young Misty and convinced Grandpa Beebe to sell the pony to her. When Misty was weaned, she was shipped to Marguerite's home in Illinois where she lived for 10 years. Misty eventually returned to Chincoteague and had three foals, Phantom Wings, Wisp O' Mist, and Stormy. Misty lived out her life visiting with the thousands of fans who came to see her and her offspring. You can read all about Misty, her descendants, and the people who cared for her on the wonderful Misty's Heaven website. 

Marguerite's book about Misty was an immediate success and won a number of literary awards. In 1961, a movie based on the book was released to great acclaim. The book, the sequels to the book (Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague and Stormy, Misty's Foal), the movie, and the many promotional tours that Henry undertook with the real pony and some of her relatives, cemented Misty's place in the pantheon of famous literary horses. Not surprisingly, due to this popularity, a Breyer model of Misty has remained in production in one form or another since its debut in 1972.  

Misty's transition from the printed page to a three dimensional plastic model was not a seamless one however. The real Misty was described as having a map of the United States on one side and a blaze shaped like the state of Virginia. Breyer worked with Marguerite to develop the model and would have had access to photos of the real pony as well as the illustrations in the book. So it's a bit of a mystery as to why Breyer's first attempts at duplicating Misty's pinto pattern were so off the mark. Several test runs with different patterns can seen in the Breyer catalogs in the early 1970s. Some of them appear to have been airbrushed free-hand with no mask, and none of them quite match the first production models.

A few of the oddball test models have made it into the hands of collectors. Fellow blogger Andrea Gurdon owned this unique glossy Misty. I suspect she was airbrushed freehand without a mask, and the edges of the pattern and the tendrils of the mane were neatened up with acetone at the factory. 

 
And longtime collector Sara R. owns this lovely free-hand airbrushed example.

  

The first models that went into production in 1972 were different even than the tests in the catalogs. They are termed "4-eyed" Mistys by collectors because of the spots around each eye, one brown and one white, that sort of resemble spectacles. The pattern on both sides is not especially realistic, and it doesn't really look anything like that of the real pony. Most 4-eyed Mistys are glossy.

Misty was originally sold individually or in a cute carrying case with a softbound copy of the book that inspired the model. The model pictured on the box is yet another test.

Not surprisingly, Marguerite Henry did not approve of the pattern and asked Breyer to change it. The second version of Misty, the "3-eyed" Misty, was nearly identical to the first version, but the pattern on the left side of the face no longer created a circle around the eye. These models are typically matte or semi-glossy.

Marguerite was still not satisfied, and Breyer once again had to re-do the pattern. By 1973, the now-familiar Misty pattern was approved, and it has been in production ever since.

Misty's palomino color has varied hugely over the years, from a rich, nearly chestnut, honey shade to bright lemony yellow to a pale creamy gold, and all of the shades in between.

 

From the get-go, Misty was available as part of the gift set pictured above (made 1972-1981) and individually. (Her foal Stormy was added to the Breyer line up in 1977.)

 

 

During the oil crisis in the 1970s, a few chalky Misty models were made. I have seen both basecoat and chalky plastic examples, but both versions are exceedingly rare. The basecoat chalky Mistys are probably the rarest and most desirable of all of the regular run chalkies made. Collector Tina D. recently found this spectacular example at an estate sale.

 

 

Misty has been sold in several other gift sets over the years such as this one with foals Stormy and Sea Star. It was offered initially in the 1980 JC Penney's catalog and then as a regular run set from 1983-1985. 

Photo from https://www.breyervalueguide.com/

In 1984, an adorable flocked version of Misty and Stormy was offered through the Sears holiday catalog. 

In 1992, the JC Penney holiday catalog offered an unusual Misty in "cold cast porcelain" which is not porcelain at all---it's just resin mixed with porcelain dust. (True porcelain is clay that has to be fired in a kiln to harden and hold a rigid shape. Resin is essentially a type of liquified plastic with various additive powders (i.e. porcelain dust, bronze filings, etc) that solidifies on its own when mixed correctly.) Only 1500 of these models were made, and a number of them broke in shipping. In recent years, many collectors have found that the paint on their cold cast Mistys is flaking off, likely because the resin bodies were not properly scrubbed to remove mold release and/or were not primered before painting. Interestingly, the catalog page shows a model with a face marking that is pretty true to that of the real pony, while the models that actually shipped have the usual round pinto spot around the eye. Most are a yellowy-palomino shade.

The following year, in a joint project with Hagen-Renaker, Breyer offered a true ceramic (fired and glazed earthenware) Misty model. The Performing Misty was made in 1993 only at Hagen-Renaker's factory in San Dimas, CA, and distributed by Breyer. The first examples were shipped attached to their stools, but due to significant breakage issues, Hagen-Renaker quickly switched to shipping the Mistys separate from their stools.

Photo from eBay

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Breyer offered Misty as a regular run, sometimes with her book and/or with her foal Stormy. A few special runs of similar sets were offered through various catalogs and retailers, but the models were no different than the regular versions. 

As part of the Vintage Club in 2020, Breyer produced a miniature version of Misty along with her foal Stormy. Like the Performing Misty, this small plastic version of Misty has a Hagen-Renaker tie-in. This Misty was issued on the Stablemate G1 Quarter Horse Mare mold, a model that was originally sculpted by Maureen Love as the Mini Head Down Horse for Hagen-Renaker. Stormy was issued on the newer G3 Standing Foal mold sculpted by Jane Lunger. Only 500 sets were made, and Misty sports a tiny retro blue ribbon sticker.

The year 2022 marked the 75th anniversary of the publication of Misty of Chincoteague, and Breyer celebrated by releasing a new gift set featuring Misty as a foal along with her dam, The Phantom. This Misty model is Breyer's most accurate rendering of her pinto pattern.

Photo by Breyer

Breyer has been associated with Misty of Chincoteague for more than 50 years, and the company has long been a supporter of the Misty of Chincoteague Foundation, an advocacy group that promotes literacy, reading, and the preservation of the places that Misty called home. Every year, part of the proceeds of the BreyerFest auction go to the foundation to help keep Misty's legacy alive. Breyer has also helped support the Museum of Chincoteague Island which successfully raised money through donations by horse lovers to buy the Beebe Ranch in 2023 to save it from developers. 

It's a testament to Marguerite Henry's genius that the story of Misty still sparks the imagination of horse lovers, both young and old, all these decades later. What young horse-obsessed child doesn't dream of gentling a wild pony of their own and having madcap adventures? I know I certainly did. One of these years, I plan to make the trip to Chincoteague to see the famous pony swim and to visit all of the important places Misty and her offspring called home. And of course, I will definitely bring a Misty model along with me!

There and Back Again: A BreyerFesters Tale

BreyerFest #36 is in the books, and as always, it was wonderful to get away to horse country with my family and to see so many of our friends. My sister and I spent several months before BF working on our preparations for the event, and as fun as it was, I am relieved to be home with no immediate obligations or deadlines. I am really looking forward to putting my feet up (metaphorically) and working on some fun projects for myself that have been on the back burner due to lack of time. (Not that the projects I have been doing for the past 4 or 5 months haven't been fun---they've actually been really inspiring---so I'm thrilled to have a chance to put that creative mojo to work.)

Anyhoo, for me, BreyerFest felt like it started the week before I left because it turned out to be pretty epic mail-wise. I received a box of trade goodies I'd eagerly been anticipating, especially this lovely Vintage Club In-Between Mare. I just need to find the bay now, and I'll have the complete VC trio. 

As if that weren't enough, my Breyer club mail came in all at once, including the Vintage Club Mustang Family (another trade), my Premier Club Cosimo, and my Stablemate Club Spencer. 

Hooray for getting the color I most wanted!

Cosimo is stunning! I need more!

As if the above models weren't awesome enough, I also scored a green Breyer Money Manager on eBay which arrived that same week. This made up quite nicely for me not having much to spend at BF this year although I did find some fun stuff for cheap. But more on that later. 

As usual, I flew down to Georgia a few days early to meet up with my family and to finalize our BreyerFest live show string. My sister Sarah does a lot of the prep work ahead of time since she lives down there, and she also helps me by photographing models for this blog and other projects. So I was really excited to be able to gift her a box full of thank yous for her many hours of hard work when I arrived. It took all of my willpower to keep this particular pair a secret! 

We hit the road for Lexington on Wednesday morning and made good time, arriving at our hotel late in the afternoon. One of the many painted horses that dot the Lexington area stands right outside the front door of our hotel, so we took the obligatory selfie.

The open show this year was two days, Thursday and Friday, so that unfortunately nixed our plans for Breakables as well as for getting any appreciable amount of sleep. Nonetheless, with the aid of coffee and sugar, we survived two long (freezing cold, like Rupp-Arena-during-NAN cold) days showing and were happy to do well both days. 

In particular, as giant nerds for vintage models and oddities, we really enjoy the collectors classes that kick off the show first thing both mornings. On Thursday, I was thrilled to win second place with my mini collectors class.

On Friday, Sarah and I both set up collectors classes for the main collectibility day---she did theme while I did variety. Collectors classes have long been a live showing tradition though they are sadly less common these days. They are meant to showcase a collector's rarest and most desirable models, and as Sarah and I strive for old, rare, and weird in our collections, we have loved putting together collectors classes for shows since we started showing in the early 1990s. Sarah and I both won second in our respective divisions. 

Sarah's Fury Prancer-themed set-up

My vintage variety set-up

We managed a couple of hours of shopping and looking around at the CHIN on Wednesday and Thursday night, but by Friday night after two very long days that started at 4:00am, we just ordered pizza and face-planted into bed. 

Saturday is always our park day, so we slept in some before heading over to the KHP to collect our special run models and raffle tickets. Sarah and I both opted for the Lassie and the surprise for our special run choices. Sarah lucked out and pulled the glossy decorator Totilas, but I decided I didn't really care enough for any of the surprise colors to bother buying one. 

We then headed over to the guest horse barn specifically to see Dani, the 2021 celebration horse. She was just as gorgeous in person as we expected, and we were delighted to get to pet her and get an autograph from her owner. 

 We also got to see Athenian Lady again, the 2024 celebration horse...

And we found Tight Lines, this year's celebration horse, just as he was warming up to go into the covered arena. 

Having acquired the beginnings of a sunburn by that point, we headed for shade and air conditioning for a bit in the visitors' center before making our annual pilgrimage to see Man O' War. The Kentucky Horse Park is a special place, and MOW's grave has a bit of an otherworldly aura about it, fitting for the greatest American racehorse of all time.

We closed out our park visit by once again not being picked for the raffle. We only ever spend about $25 on tickets though, so our chances are never great. This is what comes of being raised by the children of frugal Great Depression grandparents, haha!

A big crowd for the Saturday raffle

We did a bit more visiting at the CHIN on Saturday night before calling BF a wrap. Neither of us bought a whole lot and nothing very expensive. I bought a few small Hagen-Renakers including a DW mushroom I've been wanting for ages and a few other fun odds and ends. 

Some purchases and a few gifts from friends

I did find one very interesting oddity (not pictured) for $10 late on Saturday that I am quietly freaking out about. I need to finish cleaning off paint from an old repainting attempt, but it looks promising. Once I'm confidant I'm not seeing things, I'll share more about that model here. (Cliffhanger!)

The last thing I got at BF was a little gift from my sister. In keeping with the Hagen-Renaker plant theme of my DW mushroom purchase, I brought home another HR-related plant, but this one is real. Years ago, Dawn Sinkovich of Share the Love gave me and Sarah kalanchoe seedlings that had come from Maureen Love's garden. I wasn't able to take mine on the plane, so I sent it home with Sarah, and both plants have thrived under her green thumb. This year, Sarah brought tiny little kalanchoe sprouts from the original line of plants, and I was able to carefully wrap one little pot and tuck it in my purse during my flight home. It's now sitting in the ivy-shaded window of my office, and hopefully I won't kill it by over-watering it. (I love succulents too much sometimes...) Maureen's influence lives on in our hobby in so many ways, and I'm thrilled to nurture this little remembrance of her garden.