Clear Mountain Morning by Cody Houston
Limited Edition Bronze with Wooden Plinth
18" x 21" x 13"
Edition #4/15, signed and numbered on back, titled on plaque
Provenance: Cast in 1977, private collection, then bought at auction in 2014
Cody Houston (b. 1941) is a Montana-based sculptor, working in clay and casting in bronze and specializing in sporting art and Americana. Born and raised in Mooresville, NC, Houston's eclectic interests, from hunting and fishing to human interest and historic subjects, are obvious in the sculpture he creates. Cody was introduced to the outdoors by his father who took him and his brother quail and rabbit hunting. He served in the US Army where he began riding in rodeos as a hobby. The detail he includes in each piece indicates his love for, and knowledge of, each subject. He was drawn to the mystique of the West and became a guide in the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall wildernesses. He feels he's recording things that are important and he wants those records to be as accurate as possible. He also worked as a trail foreman and packer for the US Forest Service before coming to work in 1971 for the Montana Livestock Commission as an undercover detective investigating cattle rustling. Always interested in creating, he took up sculpting, got to know Ace Powell and became Foundry Foreman of the Powell Foundry in Kalispell, MT. With his discovery of sculpting and bronze, Cody found a love for the medium and seriously began his pursuit of art, working with Bob Scriver for a summer. From his work on several cattle ranches and the time spent with the “real old-time cowpunchers,” Cody began to incorporate the details of their stories in his work. The popularity of his work may be attributed to the a comfortable balance of aesthetics and emotion. He has widespread appeal for collectors due to the varied subjects he chooses and because of the obvious quality of the finished sculpture. Cody says, "I always like meeting with collectors. I tell people to trust their own feelings and buy what they are attracted to. When you buy a piece of art your investment is returned over and over again, each time you stop and enjoy the piece. I like that, I like knowing that the things I create will bring satisfaction for a very long time." Cody's art is inviting. He develops the significant details necessary to imply the proper mood. He creates a comfortable feeling that is easy to live with, offering subjects for contemplation, for study, for personal identification. Cody is unique. It follows that his sculpture is equally so. Houston's work has been named Best of Show in Bronze at the C.M. Russell Auction multiple times, and has created sculptures and monuments for the National Rifle Association, Winchester Arms Collectors Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Eddie Bauer, Orvis, The Vintagers, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, the City of Whitefish, and the Animal Shelter in Great Falls.
