Grant Speed

Vocation

Lifestyle

American western sculptor, whose bronze sculptures include representations of legendary Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight (housed in the Square House Museum in Panhandle, Texas) and of legendary Texas musician Buddy Holly (on display at the Walk of Fame in Lubbock, Texas). In his youth Speed worked as a cowboy, horse breaker and rodeo contestant competing in the bareback and bull riding events, until he sustained a leg injury. In 1948, he began a two-year stint in the newly organized United States Air Force serving as an airplane mechanic during the Korean War. Before he became a full-time artist, Speed supported his family as an elementary school teacher. For eight years Speed continued teaching school, but then left that profession to devote full-time to his art. In 1965, Speed joined the professional art group, the Cowboy Artists of America, serving as president and winning many of its awards. He died on 1 October 2011, aged 81, in Lindon, Utah. Link to Wikipedia biography