A Trail of Painted Ponies Figurines

Experience the beauty and wonder of the Trail of Painted Ponies! The artwork generated by The Trail of Painted Ponies is distinguished by its uniqueness and quality. Its appeal runs from museums to the masses....

The Trail of Painted Ponies began in Santa Fe as a popular Public Art Exhibition that invited the very best artists in the country to magically and creatively transform life size horse sculptures into glorious works of art. These stunning ponies enchanted thousands of people and at auction generated close to one million dollars for philanthropic organizations. The astonishing results have been hailed as teh arrival of an exiting new American art movement called "Pony Expressionism."

These exquisitely crafted figurines are small replicas of the original works of art from The Trail of Painted Ponies, and have quickly become one of the hottest selling collectibles in America.  Enjoy this high quality reproduction that captures the power, beauty and magic of the original Painted Ponies.

The Trail of Painted Ponies collectible figurines such as the Native American Collection designs honor historic Native American traditions of painting one's horse with dramatic colors and symbols for war or ceremonial purposes. Each collectible horse figurine in The Native Collection has been designed and crafted with exquisite attention to detail to capture the spirit and authenticity of the original Painted Pony. Each figurine also comes with a story tag listing the artist name, horse name, and describes the inspiration for the creation and Pony's markings.

About The Trail of Painted Ponies figurines from Westland Giftware.

The Trail of Painted Ponies is a collection of figurines based on the life sized public art project of the same name. These remarkable works of equine art have already appeared as public exhibits across New Mexico. The Ponies brought joy and delight to thousands of people, their artistic excellence generating rave reviews in newspapers and magazines nationally. Additional exhibits are being planned, partnering with communities, companies, and organizations nationwide. Collectors across America are falling in love with the Painted Ponies figurines, with people collecting not just one or two Ponies, but entire sets.

FAQ's
How many Ponies have been painted? To date, over 278 original Painted Pony artworks have been created. Of those, over one hundred and fifty have been life-size Ponies, and over one hundred and twenty eight have been tabletop sculptures. The total number is constantly growing because we continue to invite artists around the country to paint Ponies.

Are all the Ponies in the book and archive available as collectible-sized figurines? No. Neither the book nor the archive is a catalog. With each release of Painted Pony figurines you will find some pictured in The Trail of Painted Ponies book, and some in the archive. But we continue to generate new artwork that is not pictured on either pages.

What is the difference between masterworks and figurines? Masterworks are original works of art created by artists who have submitted a design to The Trail of Painted Ponies that has been approved. Participation in The Trail of Painted Ponies is by invitation only, and those artists whose designs are judged to be of exceeding originality and high quality are then provided with a resin horse sculpture to paint. Masterworks are not editions, they are one-of-a-kind hand painted sculptures. They are also significantly larger than figurines, measuring approximately 12 inches by 15 inches. 

When were the first Ponies released as figurines? The first twelve Painted Pony figurines were released in January 2003.   

How do they decide which Ponies to retire? A variety of factors figure into the selection of which Ponies to retire. Not all came from the first release; some came from the second. They knew they wanted to initiate a retirement program in the spring of 2004 in order to establish the value of the Ponies as collectibles that would increase in worth. 

Does the value of an original Painted Pony increase when it is reproduced as a figurine? Given the fact that an original is an edition of one, and that it is THE work of art created directly by the hands of an artist, we think the originals have a significant potential to increase in value, especially if the imagery inspires a figurine. This will mean the image will be admired by more people, and the artist's name will become widely known. This has certainly been what's happened in the art print market, when prints are published of an original oil painting.

How important is the original packaging to the value of the Ponies as collectibles? Valuable enough that some buyers are leaving new purchases untouched in their boxes, hoping to enhance their resale value on eBay. According to the experts on Antiques Road show, the original packaging, in good condition, can double or triple the value of a collectible.