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Dennis Harrington was born and raised in
Bozeman, Montana. Initially Harrington wanted to be an Air Force pilot
but an elective art class drastically changed his perspective and he
enrolled in the Seattle Art Institute.
Harrington studied illustration because
he saw this as the most practical pursuit. Harrington didn’t begin
using clay until a few years past graduation. According to Harrington
"Someone gave me some clay. I started playing around with it and I
really liked the three dimensional aspects of the process." Harrington
discovered that much of what he learned in illustration also applied
to sculpture –presentation, conceptualization, and working with a
timeline.
Sculpting the west became a full time
profession for him in 1990. His first notable bronze "Guardian
Spirit," is a monumental sculpture of a grizzly bear that is on
display at Bozeman’s Gallatin Airport.
After focusing on wildlife sculpture
for many years Harrington shifted to the seductive western woman in
1999. He felt that many people couldn’t tell if an animal was accurate
but everybody knows the shape of the human body. He felt it would make
his work more challenging and so he undertook sculpting the "sensual
and sublime" personalities of the western lady. He chose to show the
softer side of the west as opposed to the rough cowboys so often
represented. According to Harrington "there’s strength in the
cowgirls."
Harrington lives with his wife Kathy
and their two children in Bozeman. |