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Steven Whyte (born 17 March 1969) is a sculptor classically trained in the traditional methodology of figurative bronze sculpture living in Carmel, California who has produced many public memorials and installations in both England and throughout the United States with subjects ranging from miners, to soldiers and fire fighters. He is credited with nine major monuments including The Silverdale Mining Memorial, The Lance Sergeant Jack Baskeyfield VC Tribute, The Spirit of 1948, and The Dr. John Roberts Monument. Whyte recently completed work on a multi-million dollar, sixteen figure monument in San Diego, California entitled National Salute to Bob Hope and the Military, and two 1.5 times life size portrait busts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Column of Knowledge featuring Dr. King's bust atop the books that influenced his life and a 2nd bust above Dr. King's famous "I have a dream speech").

Whyte's current work includes a 1.85 times life size portrait monument of the 1957 Heisman Trophy Winner, John David Crow to be placed at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He is also working on The Spiral of Life Monument, a 22-foot DNA spiral for Healthpoint, LTD in Fort Worth, Texas. And The National Monument to John Steinbeck and Cannery Row consisting of nine life-size figures on a 17’x14’ stone formation including the author John Steinbeck and eight characters from the novel, Cannery Row, for the city of Monterey, California.

Biography
The son of Campbell MacNaughton Whyte (retired Royal Air Force) and Janice Whyte (Homemaker, Gardener and Artisan), Steven Whyte was born March 17th, 1969 in Amesbury, United Kingdom and grew up in various parts of Europe including Scotland, Germany, Holland, England, and the Shetland Isles.

Whyte, a dyslexic, has been described as first using art as a social solution, rather than a potential vocation: "Art class was often the only place I felt confident that I could contribute and learn at the same rate as my peers.” Whyte's first art courses were drawing and graphic design, but it was not until high school that he began learning ceramics and sculpture.  As an undergraduate, he gained full scholarship and became the youngest accepted to the Sir Henry Doulton School of Sculpture, under the late Professor Colin Melbourne and Dame Elisabeth Frink.

After leaving school, Whyte accepted a teaching position at Stafford College, co-wrote the only validated figurative sculpture course in England, and became the youngest member of the London-based Society of Portrait Sculpture, where he served as Vice President alongside President Franta Belsky PPRBS, late sculptor to the Royal Family. Whyte's early career was primarily comprised of private commissions and portrait work, with over 70 completed commissioned live portraits to date.

In 2003, Whyte opened his first US studio and gallery on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. In 2007, the | Steven Whyte Sculpture Studio and Gallery moved to Carmel, California where it currently resides today.



Artistic style
The human form is Whyte's preferred subject, and he typically works with live models whenever possible. His sculptures are ultimately cast in bronze, but they begin as clay.

Steven Whyte describes himself as a "sculptor of people" and although his pieces are reminiscent of classical figures, Whyte chooses to put importance on "the emotional quality and impact of the sculpture" more than the adherence to traditional technique. Whyte intends for his work to have "narrative and tangible personality".

Whyte currently works in a studio that is open to the public. The interaction and response has become a part of his work. “There’s a constant energy. It’s like when a film actor does theater and suddenly there’s no distance between his work and the audience, the response is both immediate and honest.”

Achievements

 * 1987: Recipient fellowship to attend the Sir Henry Doulton School of Sculpture
 * 1994–present: Member, The Society of Portrait Sculptors
 * 1994–1996: Vice President, The Society of Portrait Sculptors
 * 1997–present: Associate, National Association for the Prosecution of Felons (Burslem)
 * 2002–2004: Invited in 2002-2004 to guest lecture at The National Portrait Gallery, London
 * 2005-2007: Voted “Best Artist” in Monterey County by the readers of Monterey County Weekly
 * 2008-2009: Voted “Best Sculpture Gallery” in Monterey County by the readers of Carmel Pine Cone
 * 2009: Voted “Best Sculpture Gallery” in Monterey County by the readers of Monterey County Weekly
 * 2009: Voted “Best Artist” in Monterey County by the readers of Carmel Pine Cone

Personal life
In 2004, Whyte married Ellen Wilson-Whyte. Whyte has one son, Corey Jacob Whyte.

Quotations

 * "I am primarily a sculptor of people. A historian, recording a likeness and creating characters of yesterday's community and today's society for tomorrow's viewer. I manipulate clay to found into bronze for the consideration by an audience, in the home, the street and the gallery. "
 * “Figurative work first attracted me because of the challenge it posed. The human form is so well known, so instantly recognizable, that if it’s poorly represented you sense it immediately, you might not know why, or be able to identify exactly what is out of proportion, but you can see that something is not right.”