Thanks to art collectors, Richard Dyson (who
died in 2013) and his partner, Robert Roberson (1999), the San Diego History Center received eight major sculptures from Donal Hord (1902-1966), famous sculptor of San Diego, California.
Dyson and his partner ran a flower shop in La Mesa and were early collectors of Hord’s work.
 |
| Catalog of 1999 show at San Diego History Center |
 |
| Donal Hord 'Man and the wheel' or 'Wheel of Industry' or 'Man and the machine' 1934 |
''Donal Hord was considered one of the most preeminent American
sculptors by many in the national and local art community during the
early to mid-20th century. At the time Hord was the only local artist to
become a full Academician of the National Academy of Design and a
Fellow of the National Sculpture Society.''
 |
| Donal Hord 'Morning' |
 |
| Donal Hord 'Young bather' 1955 |
''Hord preferred Direct Carving, a process which involves only the
carver, the tools, and the medium and shuns the use of working from a
drawing. The carver takes inspiration from the medium’s lines and
angles, allowing the material to dictate the form and represents a
return to the direct approach used in primitive art. Hord worked mainly
with hard materials like jade, onyx, and granite in stone and rosewood,
mahogany, and lignum vitae in woods.''
 |
| Donal Hord 'Kneeling young man' |
Picture below shows Donal Hord in 1956 working on the model of his sculpture Angel of Peace. The real-life
sculpture (shown in the next 2 photos) is located at the American Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. Photo of Donal Hord is from San Diego History Center.
Some other sculptures from Donal Hord still focussed on the male body.
 |
| Donal Hord 'Siesta' |
 |
| Donal Hord 'Man with a mask' |
 |
| Donal Hord 'Reclining male nude' in plaster |
 |
| Donal Hord 'Thunder' |
Hord also designed some medals figuring males, as seen below.
Sources
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/exhibition/donal-hord_dyson/
http://www.thomaslarson.com/publications/criticism/145-donal-hord.html
