Rocky Mountain Rider Magazine June 2008 Article

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Equine Art

“Stampede at Javelina Crossing” by Arthur Norby

By Dorinda Troutman, RMR Staff Writer

June 2008 Issue

Artist Arthur Norby unveiled his newest monumental bronze, “Stampede at Javelina Crossing,” in the Carefree, Arizona town center this past March. The statue stands nine and a half feet tall and weighs 1,800 pounds.

Norby, who resides in Corvallis , Montana , explains that the figure is an homage to Northern Arizona cowboys of the cattle drive period. He took inspiration and historical details from a circa 1904 photograph, and old saddles and tack at the Cave Creek Historical society. His own horses served as models for the rearing cowpony.

Norby has been a traditional sculptor for more than 30 years and has completed many various subjects, from a champion long-haired dachshund to a very large Korean War memorial installation for the State of Minnesota . He says that he prefers to work with life models, but has also used photographs.

“I learned my craft in the studio, and though I began making art when I was about three years old, I didn’t create my first sculpture until I was 38. That was after spending 10 years in the Navy and then selling life insurance.”

Norby opened his first art gallery in 1979, and has owned eight galleries since then. The latest is adjacent to his rural Corvallis home, and features both his sculptures and paintings. He has just finished a commissioned painting for Hamilton Daly Days that features a 1900’s woman standing by a 1940’s Ford automobile, whose window reflects the Daly Mansion .

Next, Norby will complete a 30-inch bronze of a woman and child commissioned as a retirement gift for the wife of a Minnesota judge.

Norby says that while he was “fairly atrocious” as an artist early in his career, he has a much better interpretation now.

As he finishes talking about his art, Norby smiles and explains, “Do what you want to do – make yourself happy, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to trade what you do for money.”

For more information, call 406-961-4350; www.arthurnorby.com and www.norbygallery.com. Or stop by and visit the Norby Gallery and sculpture garden at 170 Popham Lane , Corvallis , Montana .

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