Bradford J. Williams was raised in Eastern Colorado, a
place bearing only a geographical relationship to the congested
cities of the modern American West. It's his early experiences - of
cattle drives and county fairs, endless vistas and the small,
intimate gestures that bind a hardy people together - that are the
foundation of his love for the cowboy and the cowboy way of
life.
Eastern Colorado is where he found his medium - sculpture, although
early on he worked not in bronze, but in clay, the slick "gumbo"
type so prevalent on the range. Little did Williams know that the
small, rough images he fashioned out of prairie dirt as a child
would provide the inspiration for a distinguished career!
After serving in the military, Brad moved to Montana, where he
pursued a variety of jobs. Logging, ranch hand, horse-breaker,
saddle-maker, a theme was developing. Like the cowboys from a
distant time, Brad didn't just visit the "great outdoors" of his
imagination, he occupied it, savoring the simplicity and the quiet
rhythms of a way of life that, for most of us, is long gone, and
yet resonates.
It's been said that a place isn't a place until an artist defines
it for us. The place that Brad Williams defines takes its cues from
the cowboy way of life he reveres. "The fabric of the Cowboy's way
has woven into it a number of philosophies such as, you take care
of your livestock before you take care of yourself; your word is
your bond; and a belief that brotherly love is not just something
you read somewhere, but the act of reaching out to your neighbor.
"Through each sculpture, I want people to feel what I feel about
this way of life."
Deceptively simple depictions of small moments, his western
sculptures are symbols of our need to believe that another world
exists beyond that of our experience a world that is richer and
truer, a world where hard work, trust, decency and strength without
excuse aren't just rumors, but fact. Two cowboys shaking hands over
a fence, a faithful horse nibbling the posies a bashful young
cowhand is about to present to his girl - Brad's artwork is a tonic
for the soul, full of shared emotion and sometimes shared
jeopardy.
Brad is a self-taught artist, but success didn't come easily. "Each
attempt at a bronzed sculpture brought me closer to that reality of
becoming a successful, self-sufficient artist. I remember many long
nights of sculpting after working all day at something else."
By 1991, Brad was one of the most sought after artists in his genre
and the demand for his work became so great that he finally became
a full-time artist. His persistence had paid off. "It is my
sincerest wish that I can communicate through my sculpture the
passion that I feel for the cowboy and the cowboy way of life. I
want to leave a legacy for generations to come, one that
exemplifies all the good things that this way of life has to
offer."
