(Nez Perce, Assiniboine, Chippewa ) b. 1946 – present
Of Native American descent, Doug Hyde was born in Hermiston, Oregon, in 1946 and grew up in Idaho. The lore of his Nez Perce, Assiniboine, and Chippewa ancestry came to him from his grandfather (who was known as ‘judge’ because of his wisdom) and other elders who carefully instructed Doug Hyde through legends of animal characters the morals of his people as well as the ways of Mother Earth and the creation of man. Hyde’s sculptures are recognized for their innovativeness as well as expressing mythology and spirit. Through his sculptures, he gives a visual voice to stories of his own ancestors.
At the age of seventeen, Hyde came to Santa Fe and attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe from 1963 - 1966 during which time he enjoyed the tutelage and friendship of the late renowned Apache sculptor, Allan Houser. In 1967 Doug Hyde attended the San Francisco Art Institute on scholarship for a time before enlisting in the U.S. Army. During his second tour of duty in Viet Nam, a grenade seriously wounded Doug Hyde. During his recuperation he learned the use of power tools in the cutting and shaping of stone while working in a friend’s memorial business, all the while continuing his art education and sculpting at night. Finally, Doug Hyde entered some of his sculpture for a show sponsored by the Northern Plains Indian Museum in Browning, Montana. When his work sold out, Doug Hyde realized that he was now ready to make his mark and that Santa Fe was to be his base of operations.
Returning to Santa Fe in 1972 to teach at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Doug Hyde brought with him experience and knowledge as well as a desire to learn all he could about other native cultures. He also brought with him the ability to capture a vision and transform it into a three-dimensional image. Doug was a member of the Institute of American Indian Art’s faculty until 1974 when he decided to devote himself fully to his art. The following year he left the institute to devote himself full-time to sculpting. Doug Hyde’s works sculptured in bronze or stone, often in monumental size, frequently represent the stories told to him during his youth or portray more historical events. What is of great importance to him is that they are accurate representations of their subject matter, and that process only occurs “when I can visualize the finished sculpture in my mind.” Known for native American figures, Doug Hyde casts bronze sculpture from original stone work but prefers to do originals from stone because he loves the resistance of the medium.
Because of Hyde's skill as a sculptor combined with his closeness to the Indian culture and his war experience, he was chosen by business people in Phoenix, Arizona to create a monument to the Code Talkers, Navajo soldiers during World War II who used the language as military code, something the Japanese were unable to decipher. Because the Navajos were so young at the time of their service, he depicted a young man as a non-warrior, seated on the ground and playing his flute to calm the sheep he was herding. The work, Code Talker, completed in the late 1980s, is installed outside an office complex at Central Avenue and Thomas Roads in the downtown business district.
AWARDS:
National Sculpture Society - Elected Member
1973 Gold Medal at the Heard Museum’s Sculptor I Exhibition
1984-2000 Artist of America Master, Denver, CO
1996 recipient of Santa Fe Rotary’s Distinguished Artist Award
1996 Great American Artist Award from the Cincinnati Museum Center in Ohio.
1998 co-recipient of the IAIA Foundation’s Visionary Award
2002 Honorary Featured Artist, Heard Museum Annual Indian Fair & Market
2003 Recipient of NM Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts
2011 Masters Sculpture Award - the Autry Masters Museum Show
