Floyd
DeWitt
was born in Wolf Point,
Montana in 1934.
He had a
love of art from a young age and spent his youth drawing and painting.
He also had a passion for the land and for working with horses, which
he would later translate into his sculpture. He considered himself a
"Cowboy Artist" and focused primarily on western painting and
illustrating. That was, until he joined the Army.
Stationed for a time in West Germany, Floyd was exposed to a much wider
world of art. During his time in the service he served as a sculptor
and completed a life size battalion monument for the Army.
Returning to Montana in 1956, he
realized that his life lay in art and he moved to Minnesota to study at
the Minneapolis School of Art. Here Floyd began to really study
sculpture and discovered that "life and sculpture offered not only
infinite possibilities, but limitations as well, and that these
limitations could be a strength rather than a weakness."
With his knowledge and talent, and a keen awareness that he still had a
lot to learn, he headed back to Europe where he
attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam on a full
scholarship. In his six years of study there he participated in
exhibitions and worked to perfect his craft, becoming aware that
"sculpture itself is a language Ð the silent language of form."
Floyd easily made the transition from student to sculptor and began
working on both small and large commissions (his true passion). Floyd's
work is exhibited in both the United States and The Netherlands, and
his commissions can be seen in many public collections, buildings and
parks. In addition, Floyd's smaller work is in hundreds of private
collections around the world. He has been awarded the Tallix Award of
the National Sculpture Society and the Silver Medal at the National
Academy of Western Art.
It is easy to see today how his love of the land and horses has come
back to play an important role in his work. In addition to representing
these passions in art, he takes a very hands-on approach to the craft.
A dedicated sculptor, Floyd stays with his pieces as they move through
the complex maze of the process that is involved in the production of
bronze sculptures. He fine tunes and perfects his pieces and applies
the patinas personally. In the end, Floyd DeWitt's work has unique
appeal, combining years of training with representations that evoke the
particular nature of western culture in a medium that stands the test
of time.