Though the title of this painting, Calf Roper, is inscribed on a small plaque on the painting's frame, out of view on the top edge of this canvas are the words “Top Horse.” Artists frequently sign and/or inscribe titles to their paintings somewhere on the back or verso of the canvas.
 
The backs of paintings also may have records of exhibitions, stickers or imprints from framing studios, and notations made by collectors. Getting to know a work of art without the benefit of talking with the artist involves piecing together such clues. 
 
In this case, we are led to ask: Is the inscription on the edge of the canvas the artist's intended title for this work of art? George Phippen's inspiration to make art and the composition he created here provide details to consider.

Continue reading to consider further.

Phippen loved the cowboy life, which suggests the person—the cowboy—as the focus of his artworks. In keeping with this, the title Calf Roper on the frame plaque seems more appropriate than Top Horse.
 
However, Phippen's composition or the way he arranges the scene on the canvas places the horse's facial expression just above the center of the canvas. The horse's weight rests on the back legs, like a powerful squat that propels the body up and around. Clouds in the distant sky mimic the angle of the horse's body. By this, our eyes are directed upward to the top left, prompting our imagination to extend the horse's trajectory in space.
 
At the same time, the detail and determination in the cowboy's grimace is made a focal point by being only partially visible beneath his hat and being placed near the horse's head in the center of the canvas. 
 
With this dual emphasis on horse and rider, the painting could be titled either. At the end of the day, both horse and rider are indeed ‘calf ropers.' 

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