Richard MacDonald (American 1946)

The most collected contemporary figurative bronze sculptor at work today, Richard MacDonald is at once both passionately devoted to his art and possessed with a rare talent for creating sensitive and moving images that touch the heart of the viewer. His creative zeal is accompanied by an expert’s knowledge of the human form and an unrelenting demand for the highest degree of quality in his work.

For the 23 years of his artistic career, as well as during his studies at the prestigious Art Center College of Design, where he graduated cum laude in 1971, California native MacDonald has consistently distinguished himself with an incredible talent and energy which he translates into evocative and compelling artworks-- whether bronzes, paintings, drawings or fine prints. As one of the nation's foremost illustrators, MacDonald's sports reportage earned him representation in the NFL and NBA Halls of Fame and the permanent collection of the National Art Museum of Sport. His work has been acquired for the permanent collections of corporations such as AT&T, IBM, and Anheuser-Busch, as well as important private collections.

A member of the Society of Illustrators and many times awarded in its yearly exhibitions and annuals, MacDonald was honored in 1982 with an invitational one-man show which toured the Orient under the auspices of the governments of Japan, Korea and the United States. That same year, and with no experience in sculpting, MacDonald was commissioned to create an heroic-size Christ sculpture for an Atlanta church. The work took one year to complete. His emphatic resolve to remain a freelance artist then shifted from illustration to full-time sculpture in 1983. In 1984, MacDonald was selected from an arena of 180 sculptors worldwide to commemorate Texas' Sesquicentennial celebration with an heroic sculpture of Stephen F. Austin. The following year MacDonald was sought out to create a monumental sculpture celebrating the history of film for MGM's corporate headquarters. As he completed this commission, he began yet another, a tribute to William Henry Seward to be installed at the 40 million dollar Z.J. Loussac Public Library in Anchorage, Alaska.

It was during this time that MacDonald also began in earnest his personal exploration of the "human theatre" through the creation of several series, each comprised of rich and varied images that poignantly and dramatically convey MacDonald's sense of the strength, energy, and passion of mankind. And while it is the resulting powerful and emotive three-dimensional bronze and Lucite images-- mimes, dancers, athletes and the fantastic "Architectonica" works, for which MacDonald has become best known-- he does not content himself with any one artistic arena. MacDonald claims instead the artist's right to use whatever medium best expresses his concept. And, to this end, MacDonald's drawings, paintings and newly released fine prints are now eagerly sought by his collectors.

Each year MacDonald is honored with numerous one-man shows across the country and his work is represented in over 50 galleries nationally and internationally. Ongoing sculptural projects include three life-size bronzes from MacDonald's "Mime" and "Joie de Vivre" Suites and a life-sized pas de deux from his "Ballet" Suite. The National Sculpture Society selected The Gymnast for their 1995 Annual New York Exhibition. The monumental work Flair Across America: The Gymnast was installed outside the Georgia Dome, where the gymnastic events for the 1996 Olympics were held.