Gift Horse at Fourth Plinth

Mar 5, 2015 - Sep 1, 2016

The new commission Gift Horse by artist Hans Haacke, was unveiled on Thursday 5 March 2015 in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Hans Haacke’s Gift Horse depicts a skeletal, riderless horse - a wry comment on the equestrian statue of William IV originally planned for the plinth. Tied to the horse’s front leg is an electronic ribbon displaying live the ticker of the London Stock Exchange, completing the link between power, money and history. The horse is derived from an etching by George Stubbs; the famous English painter whose works are represented in the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.