LDVHI

+ Founded by Charles Dent

+ Incorporated, non-profit status, in 1982

+ Six-member board of trustees

Early Master Model

+ Built at Dome studio, LDVHI

+ Original in clay, eight feet high

+ Completed in 1992

+ Duplicate plaster and fiberglass copies cast

Final Horse

+ 24 feet high, weighing 10 to 12 tons

+ Engineered to withstand wind shear and earthquakes

+ Cast in silicon bronze

+ Stainless steel internal armature

+ Unveiling September 10 in Milan, Italy

+ A gift from American people to Italian people

Reasons

+ To honor Italian people for 2,000 years of cultural heritage

+ To commemorate Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance’s greatest universal man

+ To honor the noble horse, bearer of man and messages for centuries

+ To encourage curiosity, imagination, creativity among youth

Finances

+ Total budget, 1988-2000: $6 million

+ Needed to raise: $2 million

Tallix Foundry

+ Established in 1970

+ One of the largest art foundries in the world

+ Has 85,000 square feet of work space

+ Is equipped with the technology, space and expertise needed

+ Has cast of fabricated, and installed, works for such artists as Elizabeth De Cuevas, Willem DeKooning, Audrey Flack, Andre Harvey, Jeff Koons, Alexander Liberman, Tom Otterness, William Reid, Frank Stella and others.