In the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Multi-Purpose Teaching Building, a new animal has taken up residence. According to a news release by Amanda Price, it’s not alive, but it impressively captures the essence of its muse.

John is a horse sculpture by renowned artist and UC Davis alumna Deborah Butterfield. It stands on a platform in a bay window looking towards the school’s William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

John (Deborah Butterfield, John, 1984. Found steel, welded, 82 x 88 x 32 in. The Fine Arts Collection, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Gift of Edward Nicoll and Helen Kent-Nicoll) was one of the horses in the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum’s 2024 exhibit, “Deborah Butterfield: P.S. These are not horses.” It has now been relocated to a more permanent home with the school, on loan from the UC Davis Fine Arts Collection.

‘The perfect place for it’

“The human-animal bond is engrained into the fabric of our school,” said Dr. John Pascoe, executive associate dean emeritus. “The school had the perfect place for it. And we’re grateful to the collection for the loan of this magnificent artwork to be on display.”

Pascoe has led a long-term effort to bring more artwork to the school’s grounds. When he visited other land-grant veterinary schools across the country he was moved by how so many of them had invested in public art as part of building design and construction. This was not the case in California, however. So he has collaborated with artists and the university to bring artwork to the school’s surroundings.

One of two horses

Deborah Butterfield (UC Davis B.A., 1971, M.F.A., 1973) is an internationally acclaimed sculptor. She is known for her life-sized horse depictions crafted from found objects such as metal and wood. John is one of two Butterfield horses planned for the school’s grounds. Fundraising efforts are underway to secure a permanent home for Bow Tie (Deborah Butterfield, Bow Tie, 2021-2022. Cast bronze, 85 x 105 x 36 in. © 2023 Deborah Butterfield), another of Butterfield’s works. Bow Tie is currently on loan to the university from the artist and is installed in front of the Manetti Shrem Museum. Bow Tie will be purchased through philanthropic gifts. Then it will be moved permanently to the sloped grassy area outside the veterinary hospital.

“The project to bring Bow Tie to the School of Veterinary Medicine is a way to remind us of the significance of the equine species, and the school’s promise to continue to do tremendous work in caring for horses and all animals,” said Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor of UC Davis.

“The experience of caring for and training these tremendous and brilliant creatures—that hold the fragility of your life on their backs—instilled in me a strong sense of self-empowerment and responsibility. I have found that horses provide exceptional training for resiliency and future leadership. Bow Tie represents the great honor it is to have horses in our lives.”

Leading the way

As efforts continue to bring Bow Tie to the school, the Center for Equine Health is helping lead the way.  

“We are so grateful to Deborah Butterfield, the UC Davis Fine Arts Collection, and countless others who are supporting this project,” Dr. Mark Stetter, dean and professor of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Anytime we can add artwork as significant as Deborah Butterfield’s to our school’s landscape, we have the potential to be transformed.”

Meanwhile, John can be viewed from both outside and inside the Multi-Purpose Teaching Building. Visitors can also enjoy other works of public art on display across the campus.

To learn how to support the effort to acquire Bow Tie, contact [email protected] or 530-752-7024.