“It is the artist in each of us who, when numbed by the sameness around us, tries to see the world through different eyes.”

Steve Shields, born in Red Oak, Iowa, moved around the US growing up, but settled for most of his adult life in the small town of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. His extensive body of work ranges from small figures in various poses and settings to larger-than-life sculptures that grace parks, museums, and churches throughout the Eastern and Central US and Canada. Shields’ subjects were diverse, and included Native Americans, bluegrass and country musicians, mythological figures, laborers, children, military servicemen and women, and even religious figures.  In his hands, scrap metal was melted and reborn into works with a wide emotional range, and his subjects exemplified camaraderie, heroism, sorrow, despair, curiosity, and even virtuosity. Shields’ sculptures are of national significance not only because of their subjects and quality, but also because of his unusual and characteristic technique.