In honor of Art Week on January 6-12, our January Treasure of the Month is a pair of miniature sculptures by Galveston artist David W. Moore. Moore’s sculptures can be seen around the island, including the 1900 Storm memorial at Seawall Boulevard and 47th Street and The Dolphins at Fort Crockett Seawall Park on Seawall Boulevard and 45th Street - consider visiting them after you participate in Art Week’s many offerings (more information here).
About the Artist
David W. Moore was born in Galveston in 1921 and grew up with his four siblings in a home at 31st Street and Avenue O, where the Galveston Artillery Club is now. Moore attended Kirwin High School and later graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He went on to work for Moore Lumber Co., a family firm and the second oldest lumber company in Texas.
Moore did not learn to sculpt until 1966, when he attended an adult sculpting class taught by Sister Ambrose Lewis, an art teacher at Dominican High School. Moore then went on to study at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as well as with noted local sculptors such as Pat Foley and Marie Lesher. Moore’s favorite subjects included birds, animals, and his seven children, and he was known for creating whimsical and playful yet detailed sculptures. The two sculptures displayed here are indicative of Moore’s general body of work. The sculpture of the kiwi bird and hatching egg is titled It Takes One to Know One, and the sculpture of a bird in flight is titled Heron Aweigh.
The Sculpting Process
Moore sculpted directly from photographs rather than making sketches. He used the lost wax method to create his sculptures, first sculpting a piece in a pliable material like clay or wax. A layer of silicone would be applied to the sculpture and allowed to solidify, then covered with a plaster mold. This rubber and plaster mold would then be filled with wax, creating a copy of the sculpture. Wax rods were added to create channels in the final mold, which was made of ceramic. The ceramic mold was heated in a kiln to melt the wax, leaving a hole to be filled by molten metal, usually bronze, silver, stainless steel, or pewter. Once the metal cooled and hardened, the ceramic mold would be broken away with a sledgehammer and the metal sculpture underneath was chiseled and polished to its final form.
A Lasting Legacy
Moore is best known for creating the 1900 Storm memorial statue, which was installed on the Seawall to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the storm in 2000. However, many other places around the island have displayed his work over the decades, including Rosenberg Library, Ashton Villa, Gaido’s Restaurant, American National Insurance Company, First Hutchings-Sealy National Bank of Galveston, and the United States National Bank of Galveston.
Moore also had a significant impact on Galveston’s arts and culture scene as a trustee of Rosenberg Library and a founding member of the Galveston Cultural Arts Council. He passed away in 2001 at age 80.
The Treasure of the Month is located on the library’s historic second floor near the East Entrance. It can be viewed during regular library hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For museum questions, call 409.763.8854 Ext. 125 or email museum@rosenberg-library.org. For press inquiries, contact the Communications Coordinator.
Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Moore graduated from Kirwin High School and that the sculpture of the heron was untitled.
