Donations sought to restore Civil-War era painting of horse

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A southern Indiana museum is raising money to restore a Civil War-era painting of a horse that once roamed freely through a small community where locals considered it the "town pet."

New Albany resident Edgar Polley recently donated the painting to the Clark County Museum in Jeffersonville.

County historian Jeanne Burke is seeking donations from the public to finance the estimated $5,000 cost of restoring the well-worn painting, which depicts a white horse.

She tells the News and Tribune it's almost certainly the work of 19th century artist Sidney Smith Lyon, and the horse it depicts belonged to a man who allowed it to roam freely through the Ohio River town of Charlestown.

Burke says the horse "was like a dog" that wandered about and became the town pet.

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Information from: News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind., http://www.newsandtribune.com