John Safer was best known for his monumental sculptures, but he has created many smaller works.
18 Facts About John Safer
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John Safer's works stand in museums, galleries and embassies throughout the world.
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John Safer was born and raised in Washington, DC, the only child of John and Rebecca Herzmark Safer.
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John Safer's father, who operated a moving and storage business, was a lawyer who graduated from Georgetown University Law School at the head of his class.
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John Safer's mother Rebecca Herzmark Safer was a social activist, suffragette and intellectual.
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John Safer was pressured by his mother to enroll at Harvard University.
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At the age of sixteen, John Safer entered George Washington University where he majored in economics.
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At the beginning of World War II, John Safer enlisted in the United States Air Force to become a flying cadet.
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John Safer became a first lieutenant and served in India, Burma and China.
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Unwilling to leave Italy without visiting the Accademia in Florence, John Safer "borrowed" a jeep to make the drive to see Michelangelo's David.
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John Safer quickly rose to the position of program director.
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In 1953 John Safer's father became terminally ill and he returned to Washington, DC to take over his father's affairs.
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In 1974 John Safer entered the world of banking, becoming chairman of the executive committee of Financial General Bankshares, and in 1981 the chairman of the Board of DC National Bank which later became part of Bank of America.
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In 1969 John Safer had his first show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Michael Berger Gallery.
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In 1971 the renowned art collector and US Ambassador to Great Britain, Walter Annenberg, invited John Safer to have an exhibition at the American Embassy in London.
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In 1985 John Safer was invited to exhibit sculpture in the Pioneers of Flight Hall at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, DC He has the distinction of being the only artist to have ever had an exhibition in the central gallery of the most visited museum in the world.
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In December 2011, Scott and John Safer began work on a model for a monumental sculpture for the Marine Aviation Memorial.
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John Safer has been awarded two honorary degrees: Doctor of Philosophy from Daniel Webster College and Doctor of Literature from Lees-McRae College.