The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky will present a groundbreaking exhibition to coincide with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010. Hoofbeats and Heartbeats will be the first significant exhibition to critically examine the role of the horse in American art, history, and culture.

More than 40 paintings and sculptures will be brought together from museums across the country. The show will be accompanied by a 100-page, full-color scholarly catalogue with contributions by prominent art historians and an introductory letter from Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear. This will be the first time the Art Museum has organized an exhibition of this stature.

"This will be Lexington's opportunity to showcase American art, American history, and American horses of many breeds and types for our visitors from all over the world," said Art Museum Director Kathy Walsh-Piper. "It is also a chance to show what Lexington's premier art museum can accomplish."

The goal of the exhibition is to engage visitors with the important role that the horse has played in the visual and cultural dialogue of America from the Revolutionary period to present day. The exhibition is scheduled to coincide with Lexington's hosting of the World Equestrian Games