27 Facts About Jim Gary

Jim Gary was an American sculptor popularly known for his large, colorful creations of dinosaurs made from discarded automobile parts.

Jim Gary was recognized internationally for his fine, architectural, landscape, and whimsical monumental art as well as abstracts.

Sculpture and life figures by Gary often included intricate use of stained glass and his works were frequently composed of, or included, hardware, machine parts, and tools.

Jim Gary employed painted steel in many works, it being his metal of choice.

Jim Gary was born in Sebastian, Florida, but lived in Colts Neck, New Jersey from early infancy and considered it his hometown.

Jim Gary is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, which opened on April 12,1990.

Jim Gary supported himself by doing odd jobs and selling his handmade seasonal decorations.

Jim Gary attended Freehold High School, where he developed an interest in sculpting with wood; he was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2007.

Jim Gary featured stained glass in many of his formal sculptures.

Jim Gary was commissioned to create entire suites of rooms, integrating his sculpture into furniture he built.

Jim Gary sometimes used the products of clients to create fine art for their offices.

Jim Gary used as many as eight to ten vehicles to create his large dinosaur sculptures [3] and the unaltered parts are identifiable.

Jim Gary had to invent equipment to build and move the huge sculptures, creating the scaffolding, hoists, and even special vehicles that featured cranes to haul the sculptures around at his rural workshop and to place them onto trucks for transportation.

Jim Gary relied upon blacksmith skills to fashion unique hand tools when no standard ones were useful for his needs.

Some of his signature sculptures in the exhibition exceeded sixty feet and Jim Gary frequently painted them in bright colors using automobile paints.

Jim Gary's work has been featured in textbooks, encyclopedias, educational videos, newspapers, on the Internet, and on television shows around the world.

Jim Gary is the only living sculptor ever invited for a solo show and the museum director indicated that it exceeded the number of visitors to any other exhibitions.

Jim Gary's gallery was closed in favor of marketing through his studio.

Jim Gary is a self-taught sculptor whose works include abstracts, three-dimensional portraits, architectural, and functional pieces, as well as the celebrated collection of "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs".

Jim Gary noted that several sculptures had been placed at museums and venues in New Jersey that traditionally hosted displays of his sculpture throughout Gary's career, but most of the sculptures from the traveling exhibition were among those being included in the negotiations for loan as a single collection.

Jim Gary was a popular figure for lectures about his work and was booked as a speaker by diverse groups, ranging from art and cultural associations and institutions to those focused upon automobiles, engineering, science, and trades such as welding.

Jim Gary always took the time to make appearances at schools to show children how he made his sculptures and to encourage them to pursue their own creative talents.

Jim Gary personally answered every letter sent to him by a youngster.

In 2005, Jim Gary became too ill to manage his traditional and festive seasonal event, choosing instead to display a few works at a gallery in a nearby community.

Jim Gary was quite welcoming to people who stopped by his home to admire the sculptures that he always kept among his well-tended gardens.

The memorials, tributes, and obituaries for Jim Gary were numerous, the international recognition reflecting the widespread appeal of his work.

On January 14,2006, Jim Gary died in Freehold, New Jersey of complications from a cerebral hemorrhage suffered the month before.