Donal Hord - Education and Career

Education and Career

1917 found Hord enrolling in art night classes at San Diego High School, under the tutelage of Anna Valentine, a sculptor and potter who had at one point studied in Paris with Auguste Rodin. It was while attending these classes that Hord met Dorr Bothwell whom he briefly married. She later became a respected artist in her own right. In 1920, Hord met an ex-US Navy sailor named Homer Dana became Hord’s assistant, model and companion for the rest of his life. Dana's ability to handle the larger, heavier aspects of sculpture allowed Hord to produce larger works than his physical limitations would have otherwise allowed. It fell to Dana to finish Hord’s last piece that was uncompleted at the time of Hord’s death.

Seeking more art education than could be found in San Diego, Hord, in 1926, began taking classes at the Santa Barbara School of Art. There he studied with the Scottish sculptor, Archibald Dawson. From this meeting arose one of the two bits of criticism that were to greatly influence Hord’s outlook. At one point Hord showed Dawson what he considered to be a completed work, prompting Dawson to respond with something like, "Very nice, now finish it." The other words were to come from Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, who upon seeing a few of Hord’s works, commented that they were, "pretty toys." These remarks instilled Hord with a desire to only produce the finest quality pieces and led directly to what was to become one of the defining characteristics of his work, the fine degree of finish that he applied to them.

In 1934 Hord applied to, and was accepted into, the Federal Art Project. This project, through which the Federal Government paid artists a regular salary ($75 a month, in Hord’s case), to produce works that were placed in schools, post offices and other public places. An early contribution by Hord to the program was the stone fountain, Tehuana for Balboa Park’s Hospitality House. The ensuing years were to see the creation of some of Hord’s best-known and most endeared pieces, including the monumental Guardian of the Waters, which still stands in front of the San Diego County Administration Building, Aztec, located at San Diego State University, and eight limestone panels, Legend of California, for the Coronado High School.

The years following the end of the Second World War found Hord at the height of his artistic prowess, producing not only many fine smaller works, but also, with the aid of Homer Dana, several large architectural works, notably two large concrete bas-reliefs for the San Diego Public Library's Central Library. In 1956 his work, Angel of Peace was unveiled at the American Cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium, a commission from the American Battle Monuments Commission that he inherited from Carl Milles who died before he was able to produce it.

Hord was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949.

On June 29, 1966, Donal Hord suffered a fatal heart attack. Hord bequeathed to the San Diego Public Library his lifelong collection of books and several sculptures in appreciation for the assistance he had received from library's staff over the years. His final commission, Summer Rain was posthumously cast by Homer Dana two years after Hord’s death.