• Visual Art

Ed Dwight

b. 1933

Ed Dwight was born in Kansas City and grew up with a father playing in the baseball’s Negro league. He left his hometown in 1953 to join the U.S. Air Force. He served as a fighter pilot after completing pilot training, and attained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Arizona State. He first studied to be an astronaut but never got the opportunity to actually travel into space. He left the military in 1966  and took a position as a marketing representative and systems engineer. His childhood dream was to become an artist but was encouraged by his father to become an engineer. He eventually went back to chasing his dream as an artist, and eventually ended up studying at DU and began to gain a reputation as a sculptor.

Written by: Christian Powell

Image Source (Top): Cyrus McCrimmon - Denver Post - 2015

1980

Ed Dwight Studios in Denver

He originally joined the air force in pursuing his dream to fly a jet craft. But during this time he faced major discrimination and never got the same opportunities as other in this field that he was working in. He then went and studied at the University of Denver and got his masters in Fine Arts in 1977 which led to him gaining a reputation as a sculptor. He opened up Ed Dwight studios in 1980 which is where he spent 3 decades creating a body of work, including "Jazz:An American Art Form". In this series, it has more than 70 bronzes that depict the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa to the supporters of the Jazz era. Being all the people that took part in the jazz tradition and had a heavy influence on the music and African-American culture.. And his studio, which is where he does all of his work, is one of the largest privately owned production marketing facilities in the Western U.S. Written by: Christian Powell

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