Veryl Goodnight

A descendant of the famous 19th-century Texas cattle rancher Charlie Goodnight and his conservationist wife Mary Ann, Veryl Goodnight was born in Denver and raised in Englewood, Colorado. She is a largely self taught sculptor of animals who lives and works on a ranch overlooking Mesa Verde National Park. The rugged terrain provides Goodnight with many of her subjects, and she has always believed in working from live models, aiming to capture each animal’s individuality in her sculptures. The conservation work of her forbearers Charlie and Mary Ann inspired her to create works that reference their efforts to save the buffalo from extinction. In addition she has produced many public works, the most famous being The Day the Wall Came Down, created to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is permanently displayed at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, with a sister casting at the Allied Museum in Berlin, Germany.