Grainger McKoy
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Grainger McKoy (born in 1947) is an artist who draws inspiration from the dynamics of bird behavior. He is best known for his wood sculptures but also produces jewelry and gifts.


History

Victor Grainger McKoy was born in
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
in 1947. After receiving an antique duck decoy from his grandmother as a child, McKoy carved his first bird out of wood - a shorebird from cypress wood. He is a graduate in the class of 1965 of Edmunds High School (now
Sumter High School Sumter High School is a co-educational four-year public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Sumter School District located in the south side of Sumter, South Carolina, United States. With an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students, Sum ...
), Sumter, S. C. In 1965, he attended
Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...
in South Carolina and pursued a bachelor's degree in architecture, which turned into a zoology degree. After college, he took an apprenticeship under the bird carver Gilbert Maggioni. Once McKoy learned how to mold bronze and gold, he expanded his repertoire into steel, bronze, sterling silver, gold, and platinum. for these, he first carves into wood and then uses a lost-wax cast to produce metal pieces. He subsequently began creating smaller sculptures and casting them into jewelry for his wife. In 2010, a public park called Swan Lake Iris Gardens in
Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...
, commissioned Grainger Mckoy to create an outdoor installation. "Recovery" is a stainless steel statue representing the wing of a pintail duck in flight. From September 2011 through January 2012, the
High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...
in Atlanta housed a Grainger McKoy exhibit, showcasing over 30 of his sculptures and drawings. The museum said that McKoy's sculptures "grip the observant viewer with trompe l’oeil illusion, while rejecting the confounding trickery often implicit in that 'trick of the eye' style. Rather McKoy invites us to question, wonder, observe, and above all, revel in the pure beauty of his birds."


References


External links


Grainger McKoy WebsiteSumter, South Carolina Government Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKoy, Grainger American bird artists 1947 births Living people Sculptors from North Carolina People from Wilmington, North Carolina 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists American male sculptors Clemson University alumni