Birth place or City of origin: | |
State of origin: | |
Last known City: | Santa Fe |
Last known State: | NM |
Start/Birth date: | 1947 |
Death/End date: |
Veryl Goodnight was born in 1947, and raised in Denver, Colorado. Her love of horses, art and the outdoors set her career in motion from childhood. She initially painted in oils and watercolor and began sculpting in 1982.
Today she has many public monuments in museums across the country. She is best-known for ”The Day the Wall Came Down,” a seven-ton monument to Freedom - of five horses jumping over the fallen Berlin Wall. One “sister” monument is located at the Allied Museum in Berlin, Germany and the other is located at the George W Bush Presidential Library at Texas A and M University. In addition to “The Day the Wall Came Down,” Veryl has nine other public monuments in the state of Texas. A life size sculpture of Blue Bell Creamery’s famous “Cow and Girl” was installed in June of 2007 in Brenham, TX to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
Veryl and her husband, Roger Brooks, live in Mancos, Colorado where Veryl is surrounded by wildlife, domestic animals and a rural setting in the mountains that will provide a lifetime of inspiration for both painting and sculpting.
For Veryl, working from life is mandatory, whether is plein air painting or sculpting. Her studio is at the north end of the barn and included a special fenced run for models. “The individuality of my subjects, whether human, animal or landscape is what fascinates me. This is what drives me to work directly from life as much as possible. I also believe that a strong foundation in anatomy is a key to the treasure chest of creativity. I will be a lifelong student of all forms of life.”
Biography from the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame