MEET THE ARTIST
Dan Hill Sculpture launched in 1995 as a collaboration between my wife Cassie and I, and my father, Utah sculptor Dan L. Hill. Dad had just retired from his landscape maintenance business, and I had recently left a job with the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. and moved our young family back to Utah. Looking for something new to do, Cassie and I told Dad that if he started sculpting, we would sell his work. He thought we were a bit crazy, but he started sculpting anyway, and now, nearly two decades and 100 bronze sculptures later, his artistic legacy is well established.
Dan L. Hill's talent for sculpting emerged accidentally in 1974 when he was lounging around at home recuperating from a work-related foot injury. While watching an old western on television, he began messing around with a toothpick and some playdough my two sisters and I had been playing with. By the time the movie had ended Dan had sculpted a small bust, capturing a remarkable likeness of actor Lee Marvin. These humble beginnings as a sculptor were followed by the early success of two sports action sculpture commissions and a first-place ribbon in the Professional Sculpture Division at the Utah State Fair. The demands of running his own landscape business and raising a family curtailed Dan's sculpting activity during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. During this time his creative talents were focused on designing and creating elaborate perennial gardens and other landscape features. He also discovered a talent for painting landscapes using acrylics and oils.
Browsing the sculpture collections on our website demonstrate Dan's swift progression as a sculptor as he embarked on his "second career." He created an impressive body of work, winning his share of accolades along the way, including numerous public placements of his life-size pieces throughout the country. Dan's special talent for capturing likenesses kept him busy fulfilling dozens of special commission projects.
Sculptor Dan L. Hill passed away September 29, 2021, at the ripe old age of 92. He remained active artistically until the very end. When pushing clay became too arduous, he broke out paints and brushes, creating dozens of small acrylic paintings that he freely gave to family, friends and caregivers.
Dan L. Hill's talent for sculpting emerged accidentally in 1974 when he was lounging around at home recuperating from a work-related foot injury. While watching an old western on television, he began messing around with a toothpick and some playdough my two sisters and I had been playing with. By the time the movie had ended Dan had sculpted a small bust, capturing a remarkable likeness of actor Lee Marvin. These humble beginnings as a sculptor were followed by the early success of two sports action sculpture commissions and a first-place ribbon in the Professional Sculpture Division at the Utah State Fair. The demands of running his own landscape business and raising a family curtailed Dan's sculpting activity during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. During this time his creative talents were focused on designing and creating elaborate perennial gardens and other landscape features. He also discovered a talent for painting landscapes using acrylics and oils.
Browsing the sculpture collections on our website demonstrate Dan's swift progression as a sculptor as he embarked on his "second career." He created an impressive body of work, winning his share of accolades along the way, including numerous public placements of his life-size pieces throughout the country. Dan's special talent for capturing likenesses kept him busy fulfilling dozens of special commission projects.
Sculptor Dan L. Hill passed away September 29, 2021, at the ripe old age of 92. He remained active artistically until the very end. When pushing clay became too arduous, he broke out paints and brushes, creating dozens of small acrylic paintings that he freely gave to family, friends and caregivers.