Robert Graham, a realist sculptor of the female figure in often stylized poses as well as commemorative portraiture and monuments, was born in Mexico City, August 19, 1938. Graham came to Southern California from Mexico in 1952, becoming a citizen of the United States. He studied in California at San Jose State College, from 1961-1963, and San Francisco Art Institute, 1963-1964. He was a member of the National Academy of Design, New York City, elected an Associate in 1983; an Academician in 1994. He was married to the actress, Anjelica Huston.

In order to gain an unexpected or unexpectedly creative pose for his figural work, Graham may leave the nude model alone in his studio in front of a video camera. According to Graham, "In this way, the model ends up using the camera that looks at her and the monitor like a mirror and in half an hour, completely goes over a vocabulary of poses and something emerges that no longer has to do with posing."

Among his sculptural works are the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington DC including the figure of Roosevelt sitting in his wheelchair; the 30-foot high Duke Ellington Memorial in New York City in Harlem at the corner of Central Park; a monument to Charlie Parker in Kansas City; a bronze monument in honor of Joe Louis in Detroit; and Great Bronze Doors of Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles. Many pieces by him are in the office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California

Robert Graham one-man exhibitions:

1999 Contemporary Art Institute, Sapporo, Japan
City of Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Japan
Kemper Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Jose, California
1998 Larry Evans/James Willis Gallery
with Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Francisco, California
Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
1997 Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City
Galeria OMR, Mexico City
1996 Gagosian Gallery, New York
Larry Evans/James Willis Gallery
with Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Francisco, California
Remba Gallery, West Hollywood, California
Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles
1995 Chac-Mool Gallery, Los Angeles
Mikimoto Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1994 Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Jose, California
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California
Gagosian Gallery, New York
1993 Building Arts Gallery, Venice, California
FIAC'93, Galerie Neuendorf, Grand-Palais, Paris, France
1992 Robert Miller Gallery, New York
48 Market Street Gallery, Venice, California
1991 John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, California
1990 Mixografia Gallery, Los Angeles
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Galerie Neuendorf, Frankfurt, Germany
Galerie Fahnenmann, Berlin, Germany
Earl McGrath Gallery, Los Angeles
48 Market Street, Venice, California
1989 Robert Miller Gallery, New York
1988 Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
1985 48 Market Street, Fragments Exhibition, Venice, California
1984 Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles
ARCO Center for Visual Arts, Los Angeles
1982 Norton Gallery and School of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
Joslyn Art Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
1981 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Dorothy Rosenthal Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
School of Visual Arts, New York
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1980 Dorothy Rosenthal Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1979 Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York
1978 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Dorothy Rosenthal Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1977 Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
John Stoller Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dorothy Rosenthal Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1976 Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg/Cologne, Germany
Gimpel Fils, London, England
1975 Dorothy Rosenthal Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Felicity Samuel Gallery, London, England
Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Basel Art Fair
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
1974 Felicity Samuel Gallery, London, England
Galerie Zwirner, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg/Cologne, Germany
Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
Texas Gallery, Houston, Texas
1972 Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas,Texas
Galerie Herbert Meyer-Ellinger, Frankfurt, Germany
Courtney Sale Gallery, Dallas, Texas
1971 Kunstverein, Hamburg, Germany
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
1970 Galerie Mollenhoff, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg/Cologne, Germany
Galerie Rene Block, Berlin, Germany
Whitechapel Gallery, London, England
1969 Kornblee Gallery, New York
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
1968 Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg/Cologne, Germany
Galerie Zwirner, Cologne, Germany
Kornblee Gallery, New York
1967 Galerie Thelen, Essen, Germany
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
1966 Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
1964 Lanyon Gallery, Palo Alto, California

Robert Graham's public sculpture includes:

2002 The Great Bronze Doors for Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles
2001 Prologue, addition to the FDR Memorial - Washington DC
1999 Charlie "Bird" Parker Memorial - Kansas City, Missouri
1997 Duke Ellington Monument - New York City
1997 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial - Washington D.C.
1994 Plumed Serpent - City of San Jose, California
1986 Joe Louis Memorial - Detroit, Michigan
1984 Olympic Gateway - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, California

Other public and private sculptures include:

1994 "Door" Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Unobskey, San Francisco, California
1991 "Source Figure" First Interstate World Center, Los Angeles, California
1990 "Wall" Andy Williams Residence, Branson, Missouri
1987 "San Jose Fountain" U.S. Courthouse/Federal Bldg., San Jose, California
1985 "Kentucky Derby Plaque" Kentucky Derby Festival
1984 "Column" 72 Market St. Restaurant, Venice, California
1983 "Column" Federal Reserve Bank, San Francisco, California
1983 "Four Crocker Fountains" Los Angeles, California
1981 "Retrospective Column" Los Angeles County Museum of Art
1980 "Garden Pool" Michael's Restaurant, Santa Monica, CA
1978 "Dance Columns" Wright-Runsted Building, Seattle, Washington
UCLA Murphy Sculpture Garden, Los Angeles, CA
1978 "Dance Door" for Marcia & Frederick Weisman Residence, Beverly Hills,
Donated to the Los Angeles Music Center, Los Angeles, California

Robert Graham died on Saturday, December 27, 2008 at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.


Sources:
robertgraham-artist.com/biography/index.htm
www.robertmillergallery.com/Graham_Main.htm
Online Obituary Reuters News Agency, December 28, 2008
Obituaries, The New York Times, 12/29/2008, A19