Year: 2003
Size: 35.25" x 26" x 19″
Edition of 40 – SOLD OUT
About the Artist
(Courtesy of the Dave McGary website)
Dave McGary’s sculptures do not have a heartbeat. They do not draw breath. They are bronze, not flesh and bone. Although it’s hard to be sure because of the staggering realism he incorporated into his creations. McGary sculpted proud historically authentic Native Americans. Sizes range from tabletop busts to large-scale monuments, yet all share the same unexpected depths of textures and splashes of color that defy the essence of the medium.
The sculptures are entirely bronze. They are not adorned with accouterments despite what a first glance leads you to believe. The beaded fabric, rumpled leather clothing and feathered headdresses are bronze. Those slender strips of fringe and impossibly wispy feathers don’t rustle at the slightest provocation. Run your fingers over the intricate beading, the folds of the material and you feel only the coolness of metal.
But don’t blame failing eyesight for the uncertainty. Considered the Master of Realism, Dave McGary conjured up vivid and thought-provoking historic figures for over three decades. Yet sometimes the most powerful element of his work was the unseen. Motion and momentum are captured in every piece. The laws of physics are in play. You feel the tug of gravity. The sculpture seems quietly alert.
Just as you start to turn away, a flicker of movement seems to catch your eye. Impossible. Was it the hair or the feathers or…? You peer closer and it finally dawns on you. Somehow, McGary 11 managed to sculpt the wind.
His exquisite depictions of Native Americans occupy places of honor in an array of prestigious settings, including the Smithsonian Museum, the U.S. Capitol National Statuary Hall, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, the Wyoming State Capital, the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum, the Gene Autry Museum, Concordia University and many more.
Just as importantly as any of the formal accolades, McGary American tribes gained the respect and affection of the Native and families depicted in his work.
“That’s the thing I’m most proud of,” McGary said. “They trust me to produce their history in bronze and to document their history in bronze”
