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Hall of Great Westerners
Inducted in 2017
Harold T. Holden

Harold T. Holden

1940 - 2023

Oklahoma

Harold “H” Holden comes from a family of talented inventors and engineers, but he was the first to become a professional fine artist. After graduating from Enid (OK) High School, he attended Oklahoma State University and graduated from the Texas Academy of Art in Houston. Holden worked as a commercial artist in Wichita, Kansas and in Houston, Texas, where he eventually took the position of art director at Western Horseman magazine.

After serving in the US Navy in Vietnam, he became a professional fine artist and received commissions from the National Cattlemen’s Association from 1982-1986 . Holden was a member of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association (TCA) and the National Western Artists Association and received numerous awards from both organizations. He is known for his attention to detail, and particularly his sculptures of horses. Holden spends much of his leisure time team roping and staying close to the cowboy way of life.

In 1987 Holden began sculpting a series of commemorative bronzes to depict the 165 year history of the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma and Kansas. He has completed monuments in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Holden received the lifetime achievement award from the Oklahoma Sculpture Society and was inducted into the Mountain Oyster Club as a lifetime member in 2000. In 2001 he received the Oklahoma Governor’s Art Award from Governor Frank Keating and was elected into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2014. He became a Professional Member in the National Sculpture Society in 2004.

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