David Hayes

American, 1931–2013

Renowned for his large-scale outdoor sculptures, American sculptor David V. Hayes was celebrated for his abstract geometric works that fused industrial materials with organic forms. Working primarily in welded steel and bronze, Hayes crafted sculptures inspired by natural elements—leaves, branches and geological formations—that explore the interplay of shape and space.

Hayes’ work has been seen in about 300 exhibitions in the United States, France and the Netherlands. His work is in the collections of more than 100 museums and institutions, including the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, the New Britain Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art and The Guggenheim in New York, Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Carnegie Institute in Philadelphia and the Detroit Art Institute.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Hayes completed his B.A. at the University of Notre Dame in 1953 and an M.F.A. at Indiana University in 1955. Over his career, he received a Fulbright Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Logan Prize for Sculpture and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Courtesy of David M. Hayes