Please help a Lexington Legend – Gwen Reardon – who needs help in the face of increasing ill health and dementia.

LINK TO GO FUND ME PAGE FOR GWEN REARDON

If you live in or visit Lexington Kentucky, you have seen and admired my mother’s work, artist Gwen Reardon. Her life-size sculptures of horses in the saddling paddock greet you outside Bluegrass Field airport. A drive through downtown to Thoroughbred Park, and you can hear the roar of the crowd cheering seven life-size racehorses in an all-out drive to the finish line while mares and foals roll and play on the hillside above. At The Kentucky Horse Park, two foals at play greet you at the entrance, and Gwen’s magnificent American Saddlebred, Morgan and Dressage Horses strut their stuff thorough-out the grounds.

Gwen’s private commissions include life-size sculptures installed on some of the finest farms in the Bluegrass and beyond. Storm Cat stands proudly at Overbrook Farm. A 1/4 life-size bronze size of Seattle Slew resides at Three Chimneys Farm. Another marks his gravesite at Hill’n Dale Farm, along with multiple foals and a replica of “The Winners Circle” originally cast for The Disney Spa at Disneyland in Orlando, Florida. A 1/2 life-size Native Dancer presides over the head of Congress Park as a gateway to historic Saratoga Springs in upstate New York. You can also find Gwen’s work in the collections of Toby Keith, Reba McIntyre, John Grisham, and Mary Gaylord.

Long regarded as one of the foremost equine sculptors in the country, Gwen has devoted her life to enhancing the horse as an integral part of the Bluegrass arts scene, helping to make Lexington a beautiful and unique place to live, as well as a popular place to visit. Gwen not only created and shared her art, but she also shared her passion and talent for teaching. A long-time member of the American Academy of Equine Art, Gwen helped many aspiring sculptors learn to sculpt and reach their dream of casting their work. Last year she was unanimously awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy.

Gwen recently turned 89 and is dealing with increasing dementia and fragility, which has made it necessary for her to be in a nursing home. Her medicare benefits will run out shortly. A large portion of her work has already been auctioned to raise money for her care. Our family has exhausted all means of financial support and we are running out of options.  Her living expenses cannot be met, and without some financial infusion, her home will be transferred back to the mortgage company in lieu of foreclosure and she could become a ward of the state.  All of the molds from Gwens castings are stored in her large studio and will need to be relocated or they risk being discarded. They are part of her legacy that we hope to preserve.

This GoFundMe is a joint effort by a group of friends and supporters of Gwen’s. Please join us in helping support her at this time so we can continue to see she gets the care she needs and her other financial obligations met and/or liquidated.  Any amount you would care to donate would be helpful, or if you would like to do something in kind (provide a location where the molds could be moved and stored) that would be greatly appreciated. 

In addition to the GoFundMe as a way to help Gwen, a tabletop size bronze of the great 19th-century racehorse and sire “Lexington” may be available for special order. It measures 20 high by 26 long. There is currently only one in existence, the artist proof. Options to having it cast are presently being explored. Photos and information are available upon request.

If you are inclined to do so, please share this with your Facebook friends and help us reach a larger audience.

Please note: When you make a donation please be assured the funds will benefit Gwen Reardon and will all go towards her personal financial obligations and medical needs. The GoFundMe platform is structured so that it lists the funds as benefitting the person making the withdrawals.  I will be withdrawing them on Gwen’s behalf as her power of attorney since she is unable to do so herself. I have been in the position of trying to keep her financial obligations and medical and personal needs met for a long time and it is no longer possible with my limited resources. 

Rene Marino