Boat and Water-skier Whirligig

Date1993

DimensionsOverall: 12 × 20 3/8 × 12 in. (30.5 × 51.8 × 30.5 cm)

Object numberN0089.1995

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of John J.Conroy

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextAlthough it has medieval European origins, the whirligig reached its fullest development in America. The form was probably derived from articualted dolls and was inspired by windmills. In America, whirligigs are found in two basic forms: a single figure with rotating arms, and a complex multi-part construction with gears and connecting rods transferring wind power into movement. Stark, a retired mechanic, transferred his ability and vocational training into smoothly balanced models of both delicacy and innovative forms that have an intriguing complexity of motion.

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