Charles Owen Perry (October 18, 1929, Helena, Montana, US – February 8, 2011, Norwalk, Connecticut, US) was an American sculptor particularly known for his large-scale public sculptures.
Life
He served in the U.S. Army, during the
Korean War, receiving a
Bronze Star.
Perry initially studied architecture at
Yale University, graduating in 1958. He then joined the firm of
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in San Francisco, where he continued to work as an architect until 1963. At the same time, Perry started developing some of his own ideas in sculpture and in 1964 staged his first one-man show of sculptural models in San Francisco, which led to some early commissions for his sculptures.
In the same year Perry won the
Rome Prize (for architecture) from the
American Academy in Rome and left for two years of study in
Rome, Italy — an experience that confirmed his switch to sculpture. On returning to the United States, Perry began to concentrate on designing public sculptures, with ''
Continuum
Continuum may refer to:
* Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes
Mathematics
* Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...
'' outside the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
, Washington, D.C., being his most prominent work.
In his later years, Perry diversified into developing chair designs, jewelry, and a number of sculptural puzzles for the
Museum of Modern Art and the
Smithsonian Institution.
In addition to his work as a sculpture Perry designed a line of jewelry, and other items fo
Tiffany & Co
Family
In 1962, he married Sheila Henry de Perry; they had five children. He also has a brother, Alexander Perry and sisters Carroll and Avery.
References
External links
Perry's web siteCharles Perry's autobiography summaryStackable Perry Chair
at KI
Pure Form. Documentary Film on Charles Perry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Charles
1929 births
2011 deaths
20th-century American sculptors
American modern sculptors
People from Helena, Montana
Artists from Montana
American military personnel of the Korean War
21st-century American sculptors