Harold Fooshee Clayton (May 9, 1954 – May 26, 2015) was a noted
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 ...
and
stone-carver, best known for several sets of life-size sculptures of cows on display at various public sites in Texas.
Initially interested in painting, Clayton studied art at the
Massachusetts College of Art in
Boston, Massachusetts and the
University of North Texas in
Denton, Texas, graduating ''
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' with a
BFA in 1977. He moved to stone as a medium, and spent the years from 1982 to 1987 in
Pietrasanta, Italy, studying
carving
Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...
in the studio of
Sem Ghelardini
Sem Ghelardini (30 March 1927 – 12 January 1997) was an Italian sculptor and artisan. He was known as a master marble-carver and was the founder of Studio Sem in Pietrasanta which has executed the monumental works of many contemporary sculpto ...
.
While still in Italy, Clayton accepted a commission for four sets of five
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
cows from for the
Trammell Crow Company, a large
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
real estate development concern. Three of the sets now stand in Texas at the
Arboretum at Great Hills in
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, at Founder's Park in
Las Colinas
Las Colinas is a mixed-use planned community development in Irving, Texas, part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, governed by The Las Colinas Association, a Texas non-profit corporation. Due to its central location between Dallas
Dallas ...
in
Irving Irving may refer to:
People
*Irving (name), including a list of people with the name
Fictional characters
* Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip)
* Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...
, and at Trammel Crow Park in Dallas. The fourth set is at One Park Plaza in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. A sculpture of a half completed cow, emerging from stone, sits in the front yard of Clayton's former home in Dallas.
The cows at these sites stand where live cows actually grazed in the recent past. In fact, the models for the sculptures were made in 1980 from cows standing on the hill where the Las Colinas cows now appear to graze. Each cow required four tons of marble.
The cows at the Arboretum site are much loved by children.
Clayton maintained a workshop in Dallas and was a member of th
Stone Carvers Guild He died of lung cancer in 2015.
Dallas artist Harold Fooshee Clayton dies at 61
''The Dallas Morning News'', 28 May 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
See also
*Concrete Cows
The ''Concrete Cows'' in Milton Keynes, England are an iconic work of sculpture, created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Leyh. There are three cows and three calves, approximately half life size.
The ''Cows'' are constructed from scrap, s ...
* CowParade
References
Images
Bison in Heath, Texas
One of the Las Colinas cows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Harold F.
20th-century American sculptors
1954 births
Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni
Stone carvers
University of North Texas alumni
2015 deaths
21st-century American sculptors