Michael Hamby

Artist's Biography

Former Buffalo Bills Pro Football Player Turned Bronze Sculptor

No sports bar for Michael Hamby. The retired player turns his love of art and the outdoors into powerful bronze sculptures, from small works to monumental public art.

Michael Hamby’s bronze sculpture displays the energy of a fleeting moment. His reality based figures, both people and animals, transcends the immobile nature of the bronze in which intense moments are captured permanently. A Utah native, Hamby’s youth was spent exploring the land of his native state. His deep appreciation for Native American culture, the land, and the animals is evident in his work.

Monumental Michael Hamby Sculpture Commissions

Also a musician, painter, and illustrator, sculpting is Hamby’s passion. Fierce Encounter, a sculpture of two 24 foot high grizzly bears towers over visitors to Cabela’s in Dundee, Michigan. The Citadel sports an 8 foot long, 5 1/2 foot high scuplture of their bulldog mascot. Some of his sculpture commissions include smaller replicas as incentives for benefactors. The minutes of the May 7, 2008 town board of Orchard Park, New York includes unanimous approval of a payment of $57,900 to Hamby for the completion of a sculpture for Orchard Park Parkland, including 11 benefactor’s gifts.
Some of his other sculpture commissions include:

The College Football Hall of Fame
The National Football Hall of Fame
Merrill Lynch USA
The Golden Hotel in Golden Colorado
USA Today
Utah State College
Clarion University in Pennsylvania
Buffalo Naval and Serviceman’s Park
National Wildlife’s Research Center Fort Collins, Colorado
US Postal Service
Federal Center, Buffalo, New York
Baseball Weekly

The Artesia Daily Press ran an article announcing the unveiling of the second statue of three commissioned as street art, known as the cattle drive, a collaborative work between Hamby and Vic Payne. The larger than life size series graces the streets of Artesia, New Mexico in recognition of the historical contribution of the hardships incurred by cattle ranchers in south eastern New Mexico. The powerful pieces evoke the smells and sounds that accompany a cattle drive.

People Sculptures

Hamby’s sculptures of people include cowboys, Native Americans, and Mountain Men. He has sculpted a few busts. His talent for sculpting espressive faces shines through these works. Whatever scale Hamby sculpts, his attention to detail and ability to capture the energy of the moment is very impressive. The movement implied in his works adds a liveliness not often found in bronze sculpture.