Gerald Anthony Shippen
was born in northwestern Wyoming, adjecent to Grand Teton and
Yellowstone National Parks. Occasional visitors to the area included
such noted American artists as Thomas Hart Benton, Ivan Albright and
Ogden Pleisner; all served to influence Shippen's native interest in
art. Growing up on a ranch, Shippen developed an early interest in
drawing and painting the people, animals and landscapes of his
surroundings. His first sculputres were figures created for his own
amusement out of clay from a nearby streambed. Many of the characters
from Shippen's youth - horses, cattle, wildlife that frequented the
ranch, cowboys, and Native Americans from the nearby Wind River Indian
Reservation - continue to be favorite subjects today.
Although these subjects are often
termed "wildlife art" or "Western art," Gerald prefers to be known as a
figurative sculptor, for it is the figure - human or animal - which is
his passion. A master of both anatomy and design, Shippen's formal
training as an artist includes an MFA from the University of Wyoming,
and an apprenticeship in Italy studying sculpture and lost wax bronze
casting.
Mr. Shippen has exhibited in numerous shows and museums, including the
Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY, the Bradford Brinton
Memorial Museum in Big Horn, WY, Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens near
Myrtle Beach, SC, and the American Art in Embassies Program.
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