The production of art is based on the fundamental struggle to liberate and express a captive vision of creativity. For Steven Whyte this struggle takes on an added element. More than the mere rendering of a visual image, each time Whyte begins to work with his clay he attempts to produce a presence enriched with distinct personality, spirit and vitality.

Education and Early Work

Born in England, Whyte was the only undergraduate student ever accepted to the prestigious Sir Henry Dalton School of Sculpture, where he flourished under the classical training and mentorship of Dame Elizabeth Fink RA and Professor Colin Melbourne ARCA. However, he found his pure academic studies preempted as his talents matured and were recognized. Before graduation, Whyte was thrust into professional life and began his remarkable career in portrait sculpture.

Attention to detail is the essence of portrait sculpture and the young artist grew to be a master of identifying and capturing the nuances of expression that define individuality and spirit. Enamored with the ability to create life and personality in previously inanimate matter, Whyte strove to communicate character that went beyond physical details and instead left his sitters with a reflection of their true selves; a likeness of both their physical and spiritual presence. His talent attracted the attention of leading members of Britain's political, cultural and business spheres, with commissions including: the Lord Bishop of Litchfield, Viscount Blakenham, the Earl of Stockton, Sir John Harvey-Jones and the Speaker of the House of Commons.  

Alongside his early work as a portrait sculptor, Whyte was awarded a private commission from a major European hotel chain during the final year of his studies. Embracing the opportunity to combine the sensitivity to accuracy and detail gained through his portrait work with his own sense of self-expression he went on to create Destiny, an ascending, siren-like, eleven foot, female figure who inspires viewers with an aura of peace, juxtaposed with a vibrant sense of exaltation. Yet fundamentally, the essence of the piece remained subjective with viewers performing a personal analysis with their response. Witnessing this phenomenon confirmed for Whyte that the true power of artistic expression lay in the dynamic and interpretive dialogue between the audience and the work.  

Despite his pleasure at these early personal successes, the artist's exposure to the world of professional art left him with the discouraging realization that the pursuit of figurative art was becoming increasingly eclipsed in the zealous embrace of abstraction and deconstruction. The closure of the Sir Henry Dalton School left Whyte distressed that training of the nature he received, with mentorship and apprenticeship, was in danger of extinction. He was thus motivated to join with fellow sculptor Michael Talbot ARA to produce a syllabus for the first validated course devoted exclusively to figurative sculpture and accepted a teaching position at Stafford College. The resulting, nationally popular, course ensured that another generation of students would have the opportunity to create and experience art in the humanistic tradition.  

Producing the Jack Baskeyfield VC Tribute, Whyte strived to again communicate a common evocative and emotional statement. Consequently, he designed a piece that depicts the physical details of a specific World War II soldier while it expresses the universal bravery and sacrifice inherent in battle. The monument shows Baskeyfield loading a canon shell traditionally used by two soldiers unassisted and symbolizes the rare force universally displayed by all soldiers in the adversity of war. For Whyte, the project represented an ideal opportunity to not only reproduce the physical regard of Jack Baskeyfield, but to enrich his features with the strength and presence of nation's struggles. Today, the statue stands as the only memorial to a non-commissioned soldier in Great Britain.  

Monument work in the US

With a growing list of private collectors, Whyte simultaneously continued to create work for the public sphere. His first major monument in the United States was the exceedingly popular National Salute to Bob Hope and the Military. Featuring thecentral figure of Bob Hope, the legendary comedian issurrounded by service men and women, all historically accurate from different periods and branchesof the military,representing each conflict that Hope had performed as part of USO. The monument has become one of San Diego’s most popular tourist destinations.

Whyte followed his work for San Diego with two monuments to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Working with photojournalist Bob Finch who covered King during histime at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Whyte worked to honor the civil rights icon by referencing King’s humanity and personal strength. The first monument, Column of Knowledge is housed at the Fontana LewisLibrary & Technology Center’s Children’s Reading Room. The monument features a heroic bust of King atop a column rendered to represent the key books King had referenced in his own work. Today, librarians use the sculpture to communicate to their young visitors that the books build the foundation for the person they will become. The success of this piece led to Whyte being chosen by Hollywood, Florida to produce a 1.5 time life size portrait bust of Dr. Martin Luther King.  The bust was installed on top of a carved granite slab on which the “I Have a Dream” speech was carved.  

One of Whyte’s most meaningful achievements arrived when he was asked to create a new piece of sculpture for his own community of Carmel for California’s historic Mission San Carlos Borromeo. As a transplant to Carmel, Whyte had always admired the community’s deep artistic tradition and its commitment to historic preservation. This appreciation, combined with his own personal affinity for work done in a classical style, made him the ideal candidate to create a new high-bas relief of St. Anthony and the Young Christ Child for the Mission’s Chapel

Throughout his public monument career Whyte, has continued in his dedication to portrait sculpture. With numerous private commissions, he decided to expand his range by producing new portraits of United States presidents, beginning with a number of founding fathers. Whyte’s deeply emotional representations of Lincoln, Jefferson and others have become sought after for additions to the collections of some of the nation’s most influential leaders, including former Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta who, during his tenure, displayed his Lincoln Bust in his office at the Pentagon.

The artist followed these successes with another installation for San Diego, this time honoring fallen members of the county’s sheriff’s department. Once again, Whyte displayed his keen ability to depict authenticity of presence, character and emotion. The Law Enforcement Memorial depicts a scene in which a San Diego sheriff presents a flag to the family of a fallen comrade.  

In addition to the War Hymn Monument, the year 2014 also unveiled Whyte’s replica of a life size African elephant for Tuft’s University in Medford, Massachusetts. The elephant represents the university’s mascot, Jumbo. The 5,000-pound monument is nearly twelve feet high and 19 feet long.  

Whyte’s largest contribution to the California landscape is Cannery Row Monument. Whyte has created an expansive work of public art for Monterey’s Cannery Row Company. The monument is a showpiece in the center of Cannery Row, erected in historic Steinbeck Plaza. Featuring nine life-size figures representing the characters from John Steinbeck’s novella Cannery Row, the scene includes the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author himself, now forever memorialized in a place that became a constant character in his works of fiction. The new installation is the largest public monument between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

Recent Professional Achievements

This past year, he was selected as the 2016 Sports Artist of the Year, awarded by the United States Sports Academy and the American Sport Art Museum & Archives.Recently, The Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery acquired his bronze bust of Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (Michigan).