Paul Moore is a native Oklahoman who has gained national and international recognition with his sculpture. He was born in Oklahoma City in 1957 and is a citizen of the (Creek) Muscogee Nation, Sweet Potato Clan. Paul Moore is a Fellow and Board Member of the National Sculpture Society and a Member of the Cowboy Artists of America. He is in constant demand for portrait and monumental commissions. He is also the Artist in Residence and Professor of Figurative Sculpture at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
Moore has sculpted more than 130 commissions for numerous municipal, corporate, private and international collections. His work is in the US Capital Collection and the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and in 2008 his portrait of Dr. Thomas Rees, one of the three founding members of the Flying Doctors of East Africa, was unveiled at their main headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. The same year his sculpture Coming of Age was placed in the Brookgreen Gardens permanent collection at Pawleys Island, SC.
His numerous awards include Gold Medal for Sculpture / Maurice B. Hexter Prize, the Silver Medal of Honor/John Cavanaugh Memorial Award, the Margaret Hexter Prize and Leonard J. Meiselman Memorial Award from the National Sculpture Society in New York, NY. He also has received the Silver Medal for Sculpture at the 45th, 46th and 47th Annual Cowboy Artists of America Show held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK. In 2007, he was given one of the University of Oklahoma's top honors, the Otis Sullivant Award for his outstanding contribution to the arts in Oklahoma and at OU. In addition to this prestigious award, he has received two Regents Awards for Outstanding Professional and University Service, five Awards for Outstanding Contribution from the University's School of Art and Art History and an Award for Excellence in Service. In 2011 he was recognized by the State of Oklahoma¹s House of Representatives for his contributions to the arts. Also in 2011, he was honored to sculpt a life-size bust of Oklahoma's Governor Brad Henry for the Hall of the Governors at the Oklahoma State Capital, Oklahoma City, OK. In 2012 his bust of President John F. Kennedy was placed in the collection of The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Boston, Mass.
In 1996, his portrait of the great animator Chuck Jones was accepted in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., along with works by Andy Warhol, Linda McCartney, Marguerite Zorach, and Stanley Meltzoff.
Mr. Moore's portrait bust of Speaker of the House, Carl Albert was installed into the US Capital Collection/US House of Representatives on March 3rd, 2004 in Statuary Hall, United States Capital, Washington, DC. This was the seventh Speaker of the House bust to be accepted into the US Capital¹s collection. Moore became the first Oklahoma sculptor to have his work accepted into this prestigious collection. The same year his monument to the Blackhawk helicopter crews of the 5TH Battalion, 158TH Aviation Regiment, United States Army that lost their lives at the beginning of the Iraq War was installed and unveiled in Giebelstadt, Germany.
One of his largest sculptures, On the Chisholm Trail, A Monument to the American Cowboy, was installed and unveiled in 1998. This statue measures 34' long, 11' high, and 7' wide. This massive sculpture took an exhausting five years of work from the conception of the maquette to the unveiling of the bronze at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan, Oklahoma.
Mr. Moore left Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1997, where he resided for 12 years and had his private studio, to be the Artist in Residence at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. He was hired to revive and develop the Figurative Sculpture Program, which had been non-existent since 1969. He is the second figurative sculpting instructor in the history of OU.
For the past twelve years, Paul Moore has been working on the Oklahoma Centennial Land Run Monument. An estimated two years of work is needed to complete this massive project. This piece of art will span a distance of 365 feet in length by 36 feet in width and over 16 feet in height consisting of 46 life and a half bronze elements. Upon completion, it will be one of the world's largest bronze sculptures. The City of Oklahoma City, in conjunction with the US Government and the State of Oklahoma commissioned this massive monument commemorating the spirit and determination of the men and women who rode in Oklahoma's five land runs.
He is currently working on multiple commissions besides the Land Run Monument; he's creating a 10' sculpture of two Medal of Honor recipients, Michael Thornton and Thomas Norris for the National Navy Underwater Demolition Team and Seal Museum at Fort Pierce, FL. This piece was commissioned by Mr. Ross Perot in addition to a 10' figure of General Wayne Downing for the newly renamed General Wayne A. Downing Airport in Peoria, IL, a 10' figure of General Hugh Shelton for the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, NC and two seven foot figures consisting of General William Yarborough and President John F. Kennedy for the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, NC. In addition, he is working on a 10' figure of President David L. Boren for the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
His portrait and figurative sculptures are represented in prominent institutions nationally and internationally, such as the US Capital Collection /the US House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Boston, Mass; the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; Brookgreen Gardens, Pawleys Island, South Carolina, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 5TH Battalion, 158TH Aviation Regiment, US Army, Giebelstadt, Germany; US Army, Fort Bragg, NC; US Navy, Fort Pierce, FL; The Flying Doctors of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California; Warner Brothers Studios, Burbank, California; Phillip Morris Co.; the Archdiocese of San Diego, San Diego, California; Citibank; Black Entertainment Television, Washington, D.C; Ball Corp., Muncie, Indiana; Imperial Sugar Co., Sugarland, Texas and the collection of HRH Shabib Taimar Prince of Oman to name a few.
Email: paul.r.moore-1@ou.edu
