ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS
Visions West Galleries Floyd DeWittFloyd Tennison DeWitt was born in 1934. While growing up in Eastern
Montana, he exhibited a strong interest in art and life in general. He
acquired a special feeling for three dimensional form, which he would
later cultivate and develop into his life’s work.
Early on, DeWitt began working with horses and considered himself a
kind of “Cowboy Artist”, who focused primarily on Western Art. His work has been exhibited in the United States and Europe, and
can be seen in many public collections, buildings and parks.
It is evident today that DeWitt’s fascination for three dimensional
form and sculpture representing animals and the human figure, in
particular, continue to play an important role in his work. He takes a
very hands-on approach to the craft and continuously strives for
improvements throughout the entire process involved in the casting and
the production of bronze sculptures. He constantly fine tunes and
perfects his pieces. As a result, Floyd DeWitt’s work has a unique
appeal which combines years of training and employs a variety of
artistic expressions that emphasize the distinctive nature of our
Western civilization while using a medium that can stand the test of
time.
In the eyes of his peers and among a significant group of collectors
found across the globe, Floyd Tennison DeWitt is considered a true
American treasure.
Mr. DeWitt has built a distinguished body of work spanning more than
five decades. The first half of his career flourished in the
Netherlands following extensive training at the Minneapolis College of
Art and Design and then at the venerable Rijksakademie van Beeldende
Kunsten in Amsterdam.
During his tenure abroad, critic and art historian Arie Teeuwisse
proclaimed, "One of the most important contributions to equine
sculpture in the Netherlands came from American artist Floyd DeWitt,
the cowboy among the Dutch artists."
Returning to his native Montana in 1984, Floyd has continued his output
of award winning work. Being recognized with such prizes as the Gold
and Silver medals of the National Sculpture Society in New York and
another Silver medal from the National Academy of Western Art in
Oklahoma City. Such peer honors have been garnered while having been
represented by major galleries across the U.S.
Noted Dutch art critic and author of numerous publications of the Fine
Arts, Architecture, and Philosophy, Dr, Hans Redeker writes: "Within a
great tradition (of sculpture) DeWitt stands out as an innovator in
that he endows all his works, including his portraits, with an inner
significance that transcends by far the individuality of the subject.
Floyd DeWitt is among the most inspired, the most authentic and the
most singular of the artists I have met during my career as an art
critic. Singular, but without the slightest trace of trendiness or
fashionable modernism, he is unshakably himself. He is one who has
liberated himself from the compulsive commercialism that contaminates
so much of contemporary art today. The art of Floyd DeWitt invariably
employs only the purest means of sculptural expression."
--This biography contributed to by Todd Wilkinson and Floyd DeWitt
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