About the artwork
Tom Hardy
Oregon Landscape, 1962
Dimensions(h x w): 7" x 144"
Forged and welded bronze relief
Located along the south exterior wall of Science Research and Teaching Center
Portland sculptor Tom Hardy’s largest and most ambitious work, Oregon Landscape depicts the state’s distinctive terrain from the Pacific coast to the Idaho border. Traversing the eight bronze panels from west to east, one encounters sensitive renderings of ocean life (crabs, an octopus, sea stars, and sand dollars), the fir forest (with ferns and fungi), the Cascade Range, and finally the John Day fossil beds and high desert of Eastern Oregon.
The sculpture was originally located on the South Park Blocks, running the length of what is now Fariborz Maseeh Hall between Southwest Harrison and Hall Streets. It is a tribute to our unique ecological environment and, created for the university community, a lyrical appeal for its study and preservation.
Accompanying essay
After Oregon Landscape was relocated in 2017, art historian and independent curator Bruce Guenther led an informative tour of the sculpture and created an essay celebrating Hardy's magnificent work.
About the artist
Redmond-born sculptor, painter and educator Tom Hardy (1921–2016) devoted his life to portraying Oregon's natural bounty. Tom's childhood fascination with nature led him to memorize the Latin names of all he saw in the field and wilderness by age 12. After serving in the U.S. Air Force in Honolulu, he turned his attention to artistic endeavors, and his watercolors and ceramics were exhibited at the Portland Art Museum and Oregon Ceramic Studio. A 1952 MFA in Direct Metal Sculpture and Lithography from the University of Oregon led to teaching positions at UO, UC Berkeley, Reed College, the University of Wyoming and the San Francisco Art Institute. Tom's worldwide travels to Africa, Europe and Tahiti introduced an international flavor to his art.
Tom's work hangs in major museum collections throughout the United States, including the Whitney Museum and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, as well as major West Coast museums, private offices, public buildings and private collections. A crowning achievement to Tom's career was Senator Mark Hatfield's commission to design and produce the bronze eagle seal on Franklin Roosevelt's monument in Washington, D.C. In 1997, President Bill Clinton welcomed Tom to a celebration of Roosevelt's life at the unveiling of the monument.
See more of Tom Hardy's work on the Portland Art Museum's website.
Banner image: Photo by Josh Gates.