Robert Graham (born August 19, 1938, in Mexico City) is a sculptor based in the state of California in the United States of America. His monumental bronzes commemorate the human figure and are featured in public places across America. In addition to his civic art, Graham is an active member of the art community.
Graham received his formal training at San Jose State College and the San Francisco Art Institute in California, finishing in 1964. Within ten years he had his first one-man show at a gallery, and in 1972 had his first one-man show in a museum, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Since then he has had dozens of one-man shows, including several at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Graham's first major monumental commission was the ceremonial gateway for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, for the occasion of the 1984 Olympics. (He also designed the commemorative silver dollar for the event). The gateway featured two bronze torsos, male and female, modelled on contestants in the games. The gateway was a major design element of an Olympiad noted for its lack of new construction. To the surprise of many, the nudity of the torsos became an issue in the media.
