Gene Zesch is an American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, who gained national recognition in the 1960s when prominent figures such as Lyndon B. Johnson and John Connally started collecting his woodcarvings. Born in 1932, he grew up on a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

ranch in Mason County and also ranched in

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Mr. Zesch started working as an artist in 1954 and has made a living out of carving caricature figurines of Texas cowboys and cattlemen. The characteristic expression of the subjects of his work is an eyed rolling resignation. He still lives in Mason County on his family ranch. He hand paints bronze castings of his more notable carvings and sells signed prints of photos of his work. Mr. Zesch's work has been featured in one-man shows at the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

(2005), the Institute of Texan Cultures (1988), the Witte Museum (1967), and the Forsyth Gallery at his alma mater,

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

(1997). His work has also been displayed in special exhibits at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

’s

National Portrait Gallery (United States) The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections f ...

(1993), the Museum of Western Art (2004), and HemisFair '68 (1968).

References

* American woodcarvers 20th-century American sculptors Living people People from Mason County, Texas Year of birth missing (living people) People from Durango American cattlemen {{US-sculptor-stub