Jim Huntington went to a quarry in Colorado last May and left with 88,000 pounds of granite in two trailers. He has between £40,000 and £50,000 left.
The sculptor – born in Elkhart in 1941 and raised there – estimates that throughout his career, he has gone through hundreds of tons of rock.
“That's why I have arthritis,” she says from Coupland, Texas, where she lives and works. “If I was sedentary or did something less abusive to my system, I probably wouldn't have the arthritis symptoms to the extent that I do. I use every type of natural supplement I can.”
Huntington adds that he also works with an orthopedist to limit the pain caused by years of working with the hard stone. So May was probably his last trip to the quarry to get a significant amount of rock.
“When this is over, I'll be between 79 and 80 and what my body is telling me, I'm going to have to seriously cut back on what I'm doing and only work in small chunks,” she says. “Make plans and stuff like that. I don't want to, but the reality is I can't keep beating my body.”
Although his granite supply is dwindling, Huntington says his passion for the art will never die, so he will find other creative outlets.
“I started out drawing and I'll probably end up drawing,” he says. “Going from two-dimensional art – drawing and painting – to sculpting, and then when I can no longer sculpt, hopefully I'll still be able to draw. I've always loved drawing and I think it's the basis for everything.”
Years ago, Huntington donated 139 drawings to the Midwest Museum of American Art in hopes that his hometown museum could help preserve his legacy. The pieces, which include sketches, paintings and several of his smaller sculptures, are on display at the museum now through Feb. 24 as part of the “Jim Huntington: The Graphic Works” exhibit.
“So, basically, I had this idea that I need to reintroduce Jim Huntington to an audience that might be new to him and to a new audience that should know about him,” says museum curator Brian Byrne.
The exhibition presents works made as early as 1964 and up to the early 2000s.
In addition to owning the sketches, the museum also owns 25 sculptures of Huntington, the largest weighing around 300 pounds.
“The drawings are seen as separate expressions of his work as an artist,” says Byrn.
Alongside the sketches and small sculptures in the exhibition are documentary photographs of Huntington and his work, as well as painted renderings of his larger sculptures, which have been exhibited around the world.
“He has sculptures in Japan and he just bought five sculptures from the city of Lincoln, Neb., for the downtown parks,” Byrne says. “So he's very active. Back in the day, you know, he was putting up these big, huge, monumental sculptures in public places.”
One place Huntington has yet to place one of his large-scale sculptures is his hometown of Elkhart — something Byrne hopes to change.
“I think it's a shame that Elkhart doesn't have a sculpture of this man,” he says. “He's as famous to us as George Rickey is to South Bend, or as important an artist to view publicly as (Mark) di Suvero is to the river. I mean, Jim Huntington has really made his life and his living out of making and selling these sculptures.”
Huntington says it was an easy choice for him to donate the pieces on display at the Midwest Museum to their permanent collection.
“You know, I can leave a little part of my legacy in my hometown,” he says. “I've made sure my legacy here in Texas lives on because I put my sculpture garden as a foundation. It's a 501c3, so it's an entity that will remain intact as well.”
He, like Byrne, also hopes to someday display one of his larger-scale sculptures in Elkhart. In fact, he's already chosen which piece he'd like to see live permanently in the city he believes instilled in him the “core values” of “hard work and perseverance.”
“We have a dialogue now. Brian will work with donors at this point and I will do everything I can to make it possible,” says Huntington. “I think it's focused on Wellfield (Botanic) Gardens. I used to go down there and spear frogs when I was a kid.”
• What: “Jim Huntington: The Graphic Works”
• Where: The Midwest Museum of American Art, 429 S. Main St., Elkhart
• When: Until February 24
• Hours: 10 am. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
• Cost: $10-$8? half admission every Sunday
• For more information: Call 574-293-6660 or visit midwestmuseum.us.
