Veryl Goodnight NSS

View sculpture by Veryl Goodnight NSS  

Read Veryl Goodnight's NSS Art of the West Article

View Veryl Goodnight's NSS video - Back From the Brink

Read Veryl Goodnight's NSS Western Art Collector article 2008

Read Veryl Goodnight's NSS Western Art Collector article, 2009

Read Veryl Goodnight's NSS Southwest Art article

Veryl Goodnight, Summer Moon, Bronze Edition of 15, 17" x 21" x 6.5"

Biography Veryl Goodnight NSS

Veryl Goodnight has been sculpting since 1973. She is one of today's best-known sculptors of Western and animal subjects in bronze. Descended from Charles Goodnight, the legendary Texas cattle baron, Veryl Goodnight's work reflects the American West and highlights the pioneer ideal.

Veryl Goodnight, Toe Jam, Bronze Edition of 35, 8" x 12" x 7.75"

Raised near Denver, Veryl Goodnight's formal artistic training was greatly influenced by the beauty and freedom of Colorado's Rocky Mountain wildlife and her keen interest in horses. As a child, Veryl Goodnight was only able to dream of having a horse of her own. This yearning became the impetus for her art, filling her with a passion to draw horses and even sculpt them in snow.

Veryl Goodnight, Little Big Dog, Bronze Edition of 50, 6" x 4" x 6"

Veryl Goodnight works exclusively from live models and has a special stage in her studio for the animals. She has raised many of her animal models including bison, deer, elk, goats, sheep, prairie dog, coyote and bear. Her work evolved over the years from sculpting only animals to sculpting people and animals. Veryl Goodnight depicts this companionship in a way consistent with her philosophy toward nature's creatures. The scenes are gentle and caring with the animal subjects shown as friends and equals.

Veryl Goodnight, Back from the Brink, Bronze Edition of 30, 24" x 17" x 19"

This ideal is beautifully represented in her "Women of the West" sculpture series, which Veryl Goodnight began in 1984 with Cares For Her Brothers. This life-size bronze is located at the Denver Zoo and Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. There are now eighteen sculptures in the "Women of the West" series. "I'm interested in women who are close to the animals and the land. I focus on the 1800's because animals were so integral to daily life."

Veryl Goodnight, A Light in the West, Bronze Edition of 30, 20" x 8" x 12"

Veryl Goodnight is one of the foremost equine sculptors in the United States. She is a sought after instructor, and teaches once a year at the Scottsdale Artists' School and the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico. Veryl Goodnight's equine bronzes range from miniature to monumental. Many of Veryl Goodnight's monuments are in museums and public collections throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.

Veryl Goodnight, Rivalry, Bronze Edition of 25, 30" x 11" x 24.5"

Veryl Goodnight and her husband, Roger Brooks, have moved to a small ranch in Southwestern Colorado late 2006. Her new studio is in the barn so she can have easy access to her models. The 57 acres includes a river and beaver ponds and Veryl Goodnight will be surrounded by wildlife to inspire a new surge of sculpture and paintings. Their favorite pastime is riding their horses through the surrounding mountains and arroyos.

Veryl Goodnight, The Bronc, Bronze Edition of 35, 20" x 15" x 10"

Selected Honors and Awards
2001-Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage 2000 - Guest Speaker on "The Day The Wall Came Down", Central Intelligence Agency and Recipient of the "Agency Seal Medallion" for her vision of Freedom in "The Day The Wall Came Down"
1991 - Albuquerque Museum "Odyssey Of The Horse"
1991 - Best of Show for "What Friends Are For"
1986 - American Academy Of Equine Art, Louisville, Kentucky, Best of Show for "Paint Mare And Filly" Allied Artists Of America
1982 - The Marylou Fitzgerald Memorial Award for "On The Crest Of A Wave" 1982-85 - American Embassy Botswana, Africa, Selected to exhibit by Ambassador Theodore C. Maino
1981 - Allied Artists of America, The Pietro and Alfrieda Montana Memorial
1981- Award for "Last Of The Wild Mustangs"
1981 - Northwest Rendezvous, Helena, Montana
1981 - Merit Of Honor Award for "The Mating Game"
1981 - American Western Art Exhibit Beijing, China, Selected to be among the first artists to exhibit in China

Invitationals
- Santa Lucia Preserve, Invitational En Plein Air, Carmel, CA

- American Academy of Equine Art, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY
- Artists of America, Denver, CO
- Cheyenne Governor's Invitational, Old West Museum, Cheyenne, WY
- Great American Artists, Cincinnati, OH
- Haley Memorial Library Art Show, Midland, TX
- Masters of the American West, Autry Museum, Los Angeles, CA
- Northwest Rendezvous Group, Helena, MT

Memberships
Allied Artists of America
American Academy of Equine Art
National Sculpture Society
Northwest Rendezvous Group
Society of Animal Artist
Master of Artists of America

Books featured in
New Mexico Millennium Collection - New Mexico Millennium Collection, LLC 2000
An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West - University of Texas Press 1998
Rocky Mountains - German travel guide 1998
Route 66 - German travel book 1998
Leading The West - Northland Press 1997
A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas - University of Texas Press 1996
Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture, Volume 2 - Brookgreen Gardens 1993

Publications, Magazines, Newspapers
Art & Antiques
Art Of The West
Art Talk
Chronicle Of The Horse
Equine Images
Equine Visions
Fine Arts Collector International
Life Today
Southwest Art
Western Horseman
Albuquerque Journal
Atlanta Journal
Berliner Morgenpost
Berliner Zeitung
Denver Post
Ft. Worth Star Telegram
International Herald Tribune
Los Angeles Times
The New Mexican
The New York Times
The Oregonian
The Stars & Stripes
Phoenix Gazette/Arizona Republic

Selected Public Collections
George Bush Presidential Library, College Station, TX
Allied Museum, Berlin, Germany
Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK
Old West Museum, Cheyenne, WY
City of Westcliffe, CO
Lely Resort, Naples, FL
Hirshfeld - Moore House, Austin, TX
City Hall, St. Joseph, MO
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC
Denver Zoo, Denver, CO
International Museum of the Horse, Lexington, KY
Museum of the Horse, Riudoso, NM
Metro National Plaza, Houston, TX
Haley Memorial Library, Midland, TX
Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, Colorado Springs, CO
Houston Astrodome, Houston, TX
The Shelton, Dallas, TX
University of Texas, Austin, TX

Return to Veryl Goodnight's NSS Sculpture

Veryl Goodnight, Country Living, Bronze Edition of 21, 14" x 27" x 5"