Founder, Leonardo da
Vinci's Horse, Inc.
Charles C. Dent, the founder of Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, Inc., was an inspiration
to all who met him.
The second child of eight in an Allentown Pennsylvania foundry owner's family,
Charlie showed an early interest in art and in flying, sometimes trading art
work for flying lessons.
He attended Lehigh University, and then began flying DC-3s and Boeing 247s
for United Airlines in the 1940's. During this period he also began to fulfill
what became a life-long passion for art collecting, acquiring works in Europe
and America.
In 1956, during the Hungarian Revolution, Charlie and his co-pilot Richard
Munger had long philosophic discussions on the responsibilities individuals
and corporations have for the maintenance of world peace. The outcome of these
discussions: the idea of founding UN WE BELIEVE to promote the principles
of the UN Charter.
Later that year, when Charlie became the first commercial pilot to belly-land
an airliner on a foamed runway, he donated his bonus to the founding of UN
WE BELIEVE. Now known as the Business Council for the United Nations, it has
been active in promoting world peace for over 30 years.
While flying for United, Charlie continued during the 1960's to sculpt, collect
art (focusing on Renaissance bronzes and marbles) and stay active in the BCUN.
In 1966 he and Roger Enloe successfully reunited former Presidents Eisenhower
and Truman at an observance of D-Day.
In 1972 Charlie conceived an international anti-hijacking program, called
"T+," to encourage world-wide ratification of outstanding anti-hijack
treaties. In order to have ambassadors meet airline personnel who had been
victims of hijackings, Charlie chartered a 747 flight from New York to Montreal.
It was the first airborne meeting of the UN General Assembly, and that flight
led to gratification by many nations.
In 1977 Charlie retired from United Airlines after 36 years as a pilot, and
bought a farmhouse near Fogelsville, Pennsylvania.
The impetus for The Horse came in 1978 when Charlie read an article in National
Geographic about Leonardo da Vinci and his labor to build the colossal
horse monument commissioned by the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, to honor
his father Francesco. After investigating the story further, Charlie decided
that The Horse should be created as an expression of gratitude for Leonardo
and the Renaissance, and should be given to the Italian people as a gesture
of international goodwill and peace.
After meetings with Sir John Pope-Hennessey, Professor Frederick Hartt, Dr.
Carlo Pedretti and other Renaissance scholars, all of whom suggested that
the project was indeed feasible, Charlie began assembling the data and photos
necessary for authenticity, and officially began the project.
In 1980 Charlie began enlisting leading Renaissance scholars to form an Advisory
Council, as suggested by the Mayor of Milan, and in 1981 he began construction
of the Dome Studio, to house the working model of The Horse and the office
for LDVHI.
Amidst the building project and the sculpting of over 25 wax and clay preliminary
studies for the large model, Charlie took time off in 1981 to help organize
a reunion of all the surviving World War I aces in Paris on Armistice Day.
He continued work on his private collection, often selling works to help finance
The Horse. As a growing list of volunteers donated money and time, Charlie
incorporated LDVHI in 1982 as a non-profit organization. This legitimized
the faith that many early donors and contributors had in Charlie's ability
to complete the project.
The project slowly grew through the late 1980's as Charlie completed the Dome.
With the help of numerous sculptors and advisors, the eight-foot clay master
model was underway in 1988.
Charlie proved time and again that seemingly insurmountable problems can be
solved if an idea has its own intrinsic value and is worth doing.
Sadly Charlie passed away on Christmas Day in 1994; but The Horse lived on
to be completed and installed in Italy in 1999.
