Greg Wyatt
Encyclopedia
Greg Wyatt is an American representational sculptor who works primarily in cast bronze, and is the sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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Wyatt was born and raised in Grand View-on-Hudson, New York
Grand View-on-Hudson, New York
Grand View-on-Hudson is a village in Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Piermont; east of Orangeburg; south of South Nyack and west of the Hudson River. The population, one of the most affluent incorporated communities in the United States, was 284 at the 2000 census. The...
. His father was William Stanley Wyatt, a painter and professor of fine arts at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
. Greg Wyatt graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History. He attended the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
for three years, where he studied classical sculpture, and received his certificate in sculpture, and earned a Master's degree in Ceramic Arts from Columbia Teachers College
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
in 1974. Wyatt has taught at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and at Jersey City State College
New Jersey City University
New Jersey City University is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. It is a member of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities....
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Wyatt, who considers himself to be part of a "representational art underground" along with artists such as Kent Ullberg, Anthony Pandovano and Fred Hart, bases his work on the philosophy of "spiritual realism," merging realistic images and abstract masses of form, space and energy. Stanley Wells, a Shakespearian scholar and chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, says, "I compare Wyatt to Rodin. He's that good." "Wyatt emulates the sculpture of the western world with contemporary vision." His works have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, among other institutions and collections, and can be seen in more than 20 public spaces in cities from New York to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
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In 1972, Wyatt was involved in an accident in his garage studio in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
which he says "defined [his] career", when he poured 150 pounds of melted bronze at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit (1148 degrees Celsius) into a home-made crucible intending to make a casting from the wax mold of the upper torso of a female model named Helaine. The resulting blast blew up the floor, send molten bronze and pellets of Helaine flying and injured the artist's left arm. Wyatt has refused to sell the remains of Helaine, which he dubbed Volcanus.
A Wyatt sculpture can cost as much as $2.4 million, and his corporate commissions have included a bronze statue of J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
founder James Penney which weieghs 3 tons and cost $250,000.
Notable works
- Fantasy Fountain (1983) – Gramercy ParkGramercy ParkGramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
, New York City - Peace FountainPeace FountainThe Peace Fountain is a 1985 sculpture and fountain located next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in the Morningside Heights section of New York City by Greg Wyatt, sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the struggle of good and evil, as well as a battle between the...
(1985) – The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City - Victory Eagle (1998) and Hippomenes (1999) – Hofstra UniversityHofstra UniversityHofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
- Bill of Rights Eagle (1998) and Tree of Learning (2000) – Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home... - The Tempest (1999), Hamlet (2000), King Lear (2001), Julius Caesar (2002), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005), Falstaff/Henry IV (2006), Macbeth (2007) and The Winter’s Tale {2008} – Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, England - Soaring American Eagle (2000) – bronze, courtyard of the State Department in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- The Price of Freedom (2003) – Tomb of the Unknown SoldierTomb of the Unknown SoldierTomb of the Unknown Soldier refers to a grave in which the unidentifiable remains of a soldier are interred. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified...
, Arlington National CemeteryArlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, Arlington, Virginia - The Tempest, Julius Caesar, King Lear and Hamlet (2003), Twelfth Night, Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry IV, Part 2, and Macbeth (2004) – Elizabethan Garden of the Folger Shakespeare LibraryFolger Shakespeare LibraryThe Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period...
, Washington, D.C. - Scholar's Lion (2004) – Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
External links
- Official website
- "Art Lovers: Sculpture - George Wyatt" images of Peace FountainPeace FountainThe Peace Fountain is a 1985 sculpture and fountain located next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in the Morningside Heights section of New York City by Greg Wyatt, sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the struggle of good and evil, as well as a battle between the...
, Fantasy Fountain and Scholar's Lion