Alexander Phimister Proctor (1860-1959) was deeply revered as both America's premier animal sculptor and an unfailingly warm and enthusiastic human being. Proctor dedicated his life to creating monumental statues throughout the United States, including the Bronco Buster and On the War Trail in Denver, which embody the untamed frontier spirit. Storyteller Dave Lively introduces a man who was so much more than a sculptor and artist. He was a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, incurable wanderer and confidant of many prominent figures in his day. After spending much of his youth hunting and sketching in the Colorado mountain wilderness in the 1870s, Proctor's talents took him throughout the U.S. and on to Paris and Rome, a life remarkably overflowing with places, personalities and experiences. Proctor was a genuine Westerner whose love of the American wilderness — its social and natural history — never left him. Although he dubbed himself the “sculptor in buckskin,” Proctor’s academic training made him as comfortable in international artistic circles as he was hunting grizzlies in the Rocky Mountains.

Presented by Bud Werner Memorial Library and Tread of Pioneers Museum.