Happy Jack
2020
Bronze
Martin Puryear (b. 1941) was born in Washington D.C., the first child of a postal worker and an elementary school teacher. He attended a segregated public school until sixth grade when, shortly after desegregation, his family moved to a more affluent area.
His parents regularly took him to the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Science and Technology, and the Museum of Natural History. Puryear developed an interest in the natural sciences early, and became an avid reader on a variety of subjects including Native American culture, archery and ornithology. He made drawings and paintings of bird and animal species and dreamed of becoming a professional wildlife illustrator.
His family encouraged his creative pursuits and he attended art classes given by a local artist once a week for four years during elementary school. After graduating college in 1963, he joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Sierra Leone, where in addition to teaching science and languages, he studied with local woodworkers and basket weavers, developing a profound appreciation for their lived art and craft tradition.