On Friday October 11th, and the world lost a loving soul and one of its greatest artists with the passing David Dean McGary. Dave died at his home in Paradise Valley, AZ, with the two most important people in his life by his side: Molly McGary, his beloved wife of 18 years, and their 16-year-old daughter Bronwyn. He was 55 years old.

An artist of international renown, Dave McGary was above all else a devoted husband and father. His love for his wife Molly and their daughter Bronwyn knew no bounds, and he spared nothing in letting them know that they were his life’s treasures. Many years ago the McGary family discovered Sun Valley and Ketchum and soon made it their second home. The Sun Valley area was a special place fore the McGarys because of its extraordinary beauty and the memories it evoked for Dave of growing up on his father’s ranch in Cody, Wyoming. Over the past several years, the family began to spend more and more time in Sun Valley, with plans to move here on a full-time basis. In Idaho Dave enjoyed the family’s passion for fly-fishing. He was able to share his love for vintage cars with a core group of like-minded friends, and took pleasure in restoring rare pre-World War Two automobiles. The McGarys were woven into the Sun Valley/Ketchum community through their many friendships, their membership in the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, and the contribution they made to the arts community though their support of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.

As an artist, Dave McGary has been at the center of the Western Art world for the past three decades. A sculptor of extraordinary talent, McGary’s career began at the age of 16 when he received a grant from Wyoming artist Harry Jackson to study bronze foundry techniques in Italy. During his two-and-a-half years in Italy, the young McGary learned the art of casting from the finest foundry workers in the world, craftsmen whose ancestors had cast the sculptures that grace some of Italy’s greatest cathedrals. “There Are No Limits” was the motto that McGary hung in his studio later in his career, challenging him to sculpt without the concern for the casting process. His understanding of bronze casting was second to none.

After returning to the United States, Dave made his home in Sante Fe, New Mexico, where he found his calling in depicting Native Americans in bronze sculpture. The relationships he forged with Native American students in Sante Fe eventually lead to opportunities for the artist to meet with tribal historians and learn the stories of the tribal families and their ancestors. The Native American community embraced McGary, and called him a “Spiritual Messenger” because he brought the pride, bravery and sacred awareness of each tribe to life in his work. It was also Dave’s gentle spirit and his respect for everyone he met that endeared him to so many in the Native communities across the United States and Canada.

The artist was a very private and humble person who let his work speak for itself, but his fame was wide and his accomplishments many. He received many honors throughout his career and his sculptures are in private and public collections throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. But to McGary, the close friendships he developed with many of the people he met through his work were more important than the accolades.

The communities Dave McGary called home include Cody, WY, where he was born on April 18, 1958; Durango, CO; Sante Fe, NM; and Ruidoso, NM, the location of his foundry and finishing studio. He also had close ties to the province of Quebec, and to Montreal in particular as a result of his “Emergence of the Chief” project for Montreal’s Concordia University. Friends there have honored Dave by creating a special Fine Arts scholarship at Concordia that will bear his name.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Dave instead make a contribution to The Washakie Foundation. Donations may be sent to the Chief Washakie Foundation, P.O. Box 901, Fort Washakie, Wyoming 82514.