About the Artist

(Born 1947) "Veryl Goodnight has been sculpting since 1973. Descended from Charles Goodnight, the legendary Texas cattle baron, Veryl's work reflects the American West and highlights the pioneer ideal. Veryl works exclusively from live models and has a special stage in her studio for the animals.

She has raised many of her animal models including deer, elk goats, prairie dog, coyote, bear, and most recently, bison. Veryl’s work has been profiled in the books "Leading The West" (Northland Press 1997) and "An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West" (University of Texas Press, 1998).

She has been featured in all major American art magazines, and exhibits in prestigious shows, such as Masters of the American West, Los Angeles, California; Cheyenne Governor’s Invitational, Cheyenne, Wyoming and the Northwest Rendezvous, Helena, Montana. She maintains membership in the National Sculpture Society, Society of Animal Artists, Northwest Rendezvous, American Academy of Equine Art and is a Master of Artists of America. Her largest work to date, "The Day The Wall Came Down", a monument to freedom, portrays five over life-size horses jumping over the rubble of the collapsed Berlin Wall. There are two castings of this monument, one located at the George Bush Presidential Library and the “sister” casting is on display at the Allied Museum in Berlin, Germany. Each sculpture is 30 feet long, 18 feet wide and 12 feet high and weighs approximately 7 tons.

In October 2000, Veryl was the recipient of the Central Intelligence Agency’s “Agency Seal Medallion” in recognition for her vision of freedom for "The Day The Wall Came Down". Other monuments are on display at The Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, the Houston Astrodome, Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, the Lely Resort in Naples, Florida, Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Veryl is a sought after instructor of equine sculpture.

She teaches once a year at the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico, and the Scottsdale Artist’s School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Veryl and her husband, Roger Brooks, live just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a menagerie of animals. Their favorite pastime is riding their horses through the surrounding mountains and arroyos."

Taken from AskArt.com