William McVey (sculptor)

William M. McVey
Born	July 12, 1905 Boston, Massachusetts.
Died	May 30, 1995 (aged 89) Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality	American
Education	Cleveland School of Art; Rice University
Known for	Sculpture
Spouse(s)	Liza McVey

William Mozart McVey (July 12, 1905 – May 30, 1995) was an American sculptor, animalier and teacher.

Life

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, when McVey was still in high school. Following his graduation he attended the Cleveland School of Art. He left to attend Rice University, where he played football under Coach Heisman while studying illustration. He returned to art school in Cleveland but did not study sculpture there because "his personality (was) incompatible with that of Herman Matzen, who headed the department." While studying at night he worked for the Gandola Brothers making tombstones. In 1929, a patron financed a "shoe-string' budgeted trip to Paris, where he studied with Despiau and Gimond^[1] as well as earning a meager living as one of three American guides at the Louvre Museum.

In 1932, after three years in Paris, he returned to Cleveland and taught at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Shortly afterwards he was employed by the WPA for whom he created several works using the direct carving approach.

Around 1935, McVey returned to Texas to teach at the University of Texas in Austin. During World War II he entered the army and was stationed at Fort Randolph Army Base, where he taught "recognition." Called up to explain why his students were being taught art in their classes, a test of his students showed that they scored higher in "recognition' tests than student taught in the traditional manner, and his approach was subsequently adopted by the other classes.^[2]

Following his discharge from the army McVey, then married to "radical" ceramicist Leza McVey, moved to Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he taught sculpture (1947–1954) and she studied with Maija Grotell.^[3]

He died in Cleveland, Ohio on May 30, 1995.^[4]

His papers are held at Rice University.^[5]

Honors

McVey was a member of the National Sculpture Society and exhibited in its 49th Annual Exhibition, "Sculpture, Reliefs, Medals held in New York City in 1982 where he showed a bronze Walrus.^[6]

He won the 1964 Cleveland Arts Prize.^[7]

Selected works

• "Bruno the Bear" ca. 1933, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio - New Deal sculpture project^[8]
• James Bowie statue, Texarkana, Texas, 1936 ^[9]
• Davy Crockett statue, (1936) monumental bas relief granite memorial with Crockett's worjd, "Be sure you are right, then go ahead" carved on the front. Ozona, Texas. This and the Bowie statue were commissioned as part of the Texas Centennial celebration.^[10]
• Rolling Bear Cubs, (1937) limestone, Houston Zoo, Houston, Texas^[11]
• Sir Winston Churchill (1966) stands outside the British Embassy in Washington D.C.^[12]
• George Washington Monument (1972–73), Washington Square, Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, Cleveland, Ohio.
• Icarus, (1990) larger than life-size granite monument in Denison, Texas, for the pioneer pilots of Texas, especially those who gave their lives in various wars.^[13]
• Hart Crane Memorial, John and Mildred Putnam Sculpture Collection ^[14]
• McDog (1985), Cleveland Botanical Gardens in Cleveland, Ohio. Sculpture is of McVey's pet Airedale.^[15]

References

1. Gilbert, Dorothy B., Who's Who in American Art 1962, R.R. Bowker Company, New York, 1962
2. Campen, Richard N., Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio‘‘, West Summit Press, Chagrin Falls, OH, 1980 pp. 45-46
3. Westbrook and Yarowski, ed. Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision 1925–1950, Harry N. Abrams, Publishers in association with the detroit Institute of Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983 pp233-235
4. "William M. McVey, Sculptor, 89". The New York Times. June 4, 1995. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
5. "Guide to the William M. McVey Papers, 1922-1976". Rice University. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
6. 49th Annual Exhibition, National Sculpture Society: Sculpture Reliefs Medals, National Sculpture Society, NY 1982
7. "William McVey, Sculptor, 1904–1995". Cleveland Arts Prize.
8. Camden, Richard N., Outdoor Sculpture of Ohio, Chagrin Falls, Ohio: West Summit Press, 1980p.46-48
9. Jones, William Moses, Texas History: Carved in Stone, Monument Publishing Company, Houston Texas, 1958 p.1
10. Little, Carol Morris, ‘’A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas’’, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas 1996 p. 348
11. Little, Carol Morris, ‘’A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas’’, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas 1996 p. 280-281
12. "William M. McVey, Sculptor, 89". The New York Times. June 4, 1995.
13. Little, Carol Morris, ‘’A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas’’, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas 1996 p192-193
14. http://www.putnamcollection.org/McVey/
15. "Dog Statues on Waymarking.com". Waymarking. Groundspeak. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

External links

• Guide to the William M. McVey papers, 1922-1976 (Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)