W. Stanley "Sandy " Proctor
Sculptor
1939 - Present
Inducted in 2006
Biography
W. Stanley "Sandy" Proctor is a Tallahassee native who has earned a national reputation as a professional sculptor of the highest caliber. The self-taught artist began his career as a painter, but soon was drawn into the 3-D world, sculpting clay, alabaster and marble. Today, he is best known for his work in bronze.
In his youth, Proctor sketched and painted what he knew and what inspired him. A lover of the outdoors, his earliest subjects were birds and assorted other animals, flowers, trees and landscapes. His paintings were chosen for many juried shows, and eventually traveled to exhibits at the Smithsonian Museum, the British Museum of Natural History and the Royal Scottish Academy.
After attending Washington and Lee University in Virginia, in 1961 Proctor worked as an intern in Washington, D.C. for a Florida senator. Eventually, he returned to Tallahassee where he worked in the family business and began raising a family with his wife Melinda.
By the mid-1970s, Proctor's art "hobby" began to gain momentum. He soon moved away from painting into sculpture, first working with clay, then with stone. Eventually he gravitated to using bronze as his primary sculpting medium, and his bronze work remains his signature today.
Over the years, Proctor's commissioned work has grown steadily. He's done a variety of work, specializing in wildlife and figurines, and his installations include works at the Boyds Collection in Pennsylvania, the National Jewish Center Hospital in Colorado; the Living Desert Museum in California; the Florida Governor's Mansion and the Leon County Courthouse. One of his works, "Bandanna," is currently located in the Roosevelt Room in the White House, a gift from the governor of Florida to President Bill Clinton in 1995.
In recent years, Proctor has established a national reputation of bronzes of popular sports figures. In 2004, his 9-foot-tall sculpture of Florida State University's legendary head football coach, Bobby Bowden, was dedicated outside the university's Doak Campbell Stadium. His sports-themed work also includes a life-size statue of Eddie Stankey (1916-1999), a legendary figure of the National Baseball league and long-time baseball coach for the University of South Florida.
In 2010, Proctor was commissioned to create larger-than-life sculptures of three of the most famous football players in the history of the University of Florida Gators. To be installed at the university's Ben Hill Griffin stadium in 2011, the statues salute three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow and Steve Spurrier.
Proctor still lives in Tallahassee where his family (that includes three grown children) helps support and manage his career.
Related Links
- Artist website - http://www.wsproctor.com
