Monument to the Last Horse

Marfa, Texas, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Monument to the Last Horse is a 1991 sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. Made of aluminium and polyurethane foam, it measures 20 by 18 by 13 feet and commemorates Louie, a cavalry horse buried in 1932.

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Monument to the Last Horse

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Approximate location · 30.300° N, 104.018° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

A giant horseshoe by two celebrated sculptors marks the memory of an old cavalry horse in the Texas desert. Monument to the Last Horse (1991) stands at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, on the grounds of the former Fort D.A. Russell.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen made it as a gift to the museum. They were longtime friends of Donald Judd, who on a visit in 1987 pointed out a crumbling concrete marker on the grounds indicating the grave of Louie, the "alleged last cavalry horse" laid to rest in 1932. Chinati describes the work as an alternative monument to Louie and a sly reference to the site's military past. It is made of aluminium and polyurethane foam, painted in a custom colour called "Horseshoe Brown", measures 20 by 18 by 13 feet, and carries the inscription from the old marker, Animo et Fide, "spirited and faithful".

The tale is often told loosely. In a 2011 lecture published by Chinati, historian Lonn Taylor said the 1st Cavalry held its last mounted review at the fort on 14 December 1932, with Louie, a 31-year-old gelding that had served the regiment for 28 years, riderless and draped in black. According to contemporary newspaper accounts, Louie was then "disposed of painlessly" and buried on the fort's grounds. Taylor wrote that Louie was by no means the last horse in the cavalry, as is often claimed, and that the regiment was not disbanded: it was to move to Fort Knox and mechanise, leaving its horses in Texas.

Chinati says guided tours are the only way to see the majority of its collection and grounds, and tours are by reservation. Because construction on the campus began in October 2026, the foundation reserves the right to adjust tour itineraries, so check the booking calendar and ask whether your tour includes the Monument.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Chinati is open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with final entry at 4 p.m. Guided tours are the only way to see most of the collection and often sell out, so book ahead. Wear sturdy shoes and a hat. Photography is allowed outdoors for personal use but not on guided tours, and bags of any size are not permitted on tours. Chinati says the Artillery Sheds are closed for restoration and construction began in October 2026, so tour itineraries may change.

ACCESS

At the Chinati Foundation, 1 Cavalry Row, Marfa, Texas, on the former Fort D.A. Russell grounds. The foundation says most of its collection is accessible by guided tour; book ahead and check the tour calendar. Tours may be adjusted because of construction.

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WHAT'S NEXT

Find another Big Thing nearby

Paisano Pete is a fibreglass roadrunner statue, 11 feet tall and 22 feet long, at the corner of Main Street and Dickinson Boulevard in Fort Stockton, Texas. Sources date it to 1979 or 1980, and Texas Highways says it was billed as the world's largest roadrunner when erected.

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127 km away

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