J. Clayton Bright

About

Born in the Philadelphia area in 1946, Clayton initially enlisted in the army. Following his discharge, he worked in Australia, and then hitchhiked through the Far East, Middle East, and Europe. Upon his return to Philadelphia, he worked at the stock exchange until a chance encounter with a Jersey cow launched his career as a sculptor. Clayton first met the cow while walking through the countryside in 1977. Her alluring curves made a great impression on him and gradually the idea of the cow as a bronze took root. A sculptor friend gave an afternoon’s instruction in the craft of sculpture and Clayton finished his first piece, Neilson’s Cow, that year. Clayton now has a studio in the countryside west of Philadelphia.

Clayton combines his keen power of observation with his highly skilled craftsmanship to create bronzes that radiate with life. His subject matter ranges from people, young and old, male and female, to a wide variety of animals, both wild and domesticated. They vary in size, as well, ranging from four inches to seven feet in length.

Bright works only from life, so he can gather his understanding of the model’s personality. He always chooses a particular model who reflects his vision. The resulting sculptures reflect his model’s individual nature and personality, bringing a sense of warm recognition to the observer. His understanding of the subject’s physical and spiritual attributes allows Bright to achieve realistic sculpture with a sophisticated emotional clarity.

His quest for knowledge led Bright to attend his wife’s anatomy classes when she was attending veterinary school. At other times he has waited for the return of spring in order to see a certain type of behavior in an animal.  Once he lay on the ground at the base of a three-and-a-half-foot fence while a friend jumped a horse over him, the purpose being to gain an understanding of the horse’s stomach muscles when it jumped.

Bright’s unique talents have resulted in the placement of his bronzes in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States, Europe, South America, and Japan. His work is also represented in the collections of several museums.

Exhibitions with Somerville Manning Gallery

2022         What I See: Sculptures by J. Clayton Bright

2021          PAST | PRESENT | FUTURE

2014          Man’s Best Friend – The Art of the Dog

2012         J. Clayton Bright: Paintings and Sculpture

2007         Animalier

2002         Recent Paintings and Sculpture

Selected Public Collections

Leonard B. Andrews Foundation, Malvern, PA
Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, PA
Foxcroft School, Middleburg, VA
MBNA Corporation, Wilmington, DE
Mayfield Dairy, Inc., Athens, TN
Seiko Watch Collection, Tokyo, Japan
USF & G, Baltimore, MD
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Philadelphia, PA
Bankers Trust, Palm Beach, FL

Sculpting From Life, J. Clayton Bright at Ladew Gardens
^{Sculptor J. Clayton Bright discusses his 2021 residency at Ladew Topiary Gardens}

• About