|
Robert
Eccleston working on NY State Fallen Firefighters' Memorial
To
use the bronze “lost-wax process” to create figurative sculpture which will:
·
Capture a split second of the subject by taking the form past its normal physical limitations. · Capture the true drama of
the moment. · Educate the viewer by instilling a sense of history pertaining to the sculpture.
These are the goals
of the sculptor, Robert J. Eccleston.
Eccleston was born in New York City. He spent most of his summers in the Adirondack Mountains
of New York where he developed a keen sense of respect and appreciation for nature and man’s place in the natural world.
Although the first seeds of his artistic career were planted in elementary school, Eccleston’s formal training began
in college. In 1987, he earned a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree (BID) from Syracuse University’s School of Visual
and Performing Arts. While at Syracuse University, he received an R.O.T.C. scholarship and, upon graduation, was commissioned
a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. Eccleston is proud of the six years he spent in the Army. While stationed at
the U.S. Army Infantry Mountain Warfare School in Vermont, he taught mountaineering and survival skills to members of the
U.S. and international military units. He has traveled to Northern Italy, Ecuador, Australia, and throughout the United States
teaching and gaining valuable experience with diverse cultures. In 1993, Captain Eccleston resigned his commission to embark
on a career as a sculptor.
Eccleston began sculpting historical figures and wildlife, blending his technical skills as a
designer, his appreciation of the natural world, his acute sense of history, and his creativity. Yet, his subject’s
go beyond the historical narrative. His pieces are metaphors, which define his core beliefs – honor, loyalty, courage,
beauty, respect for nature, and a strong sense of individualism. He uses icons of the past to depict the virtues that lift
the human spirit in good times and in times of adversity.
Eccleston is truly an artist in the renaissance sense of the word. He does
not simply create an image, rather, often he is involved in the creative process from beginning to end – sculpting and
applying the patina. All of this is done with the personal discipline and tenacity with which he experiences life. Eccleston
has his own studio and foundry at his home in the Adirondack Mountains. He is a colleague-member of the National Sculpture
Society. His works can be found in numerous private collections throughout the country. Since 1998, Eccleston’s commissions
include a ten-foot high three-man bronze memorial commemorating New York’s fallen firefighters for the State of New
York, a life-size bronze of Thomas Jefferson for Hofstra University located in Long Island, New York, a twelve-foot wing span
stainless steel eagle serving as the focal point for New York States’ World War II Memorial, a seven-foot bronze of
a World War II infantryman commissioned for the town of Bolton Landing, New York., a seven foot tall World War II medic carrying
a wounded infantryman, for the Brazo’s Valley Veterans Memorial, in College Station Texas, a 10th Mountain Division
soldier for the town of Breckenridge, Colorado and a life-size bronze of Art Devlin in Lake Placid, New York.
For more information,
info@roberteccleston.com
|