Donal Hord, born Donald Albert Hord, was San Diego’s most famous sculptor, celebrated for his direct-carving technique and public monuments in stone and wood. Raised in Seattle, Hord moved to San Diego at the age of fourteen. His first sculpture teacher was Anna M. Valentien (1862-1947), a pupil of Auguste Rodin’s (1840-1917). During his late teens he developed a strong interest in oriental art and began his lifelong association with Homer Dana (born 1900), who assisted him in the more physically demanding aspects of his studio work, such as carving. From 1926 to 1928 Hord studied bronze casting and the lost-wax technique at the Santa Barbara School of the Arts with Archibald Dawson (died 1938), who emphasized the importance of a meticulous finish. He also studied the direct-carving process. A Gould Memorial Fellowship allowed Hord to study in Mexico for eleven months in 192829. In Mexico he studied pre-Columbian art, the styles of Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Jean Chariot (1898-1979), and learned much about the folklore and ceremonies of the indigenous villagers. He briefly attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York during 1929-30. Around 1928 Hord turned increasingly to direct carving, and his fame rests largely for his work in that technique; he is also known for his highly polished finishes. During the 1930s he also experimented with polychromed wood.

In 1931 he received his first award at the annual exhibition of Southern California art at the Los Angeles Museum for Culua, 1930 (San Diego Historical Society). After 1931 he resided permanently in San Diego, producing his most notable public sculpture there-including Aztec, 1936-37 (San Diego State University) and Guardian of Water, 1937-39 (San Diego County Administrative Building)-under the auspices of the Federal Art Project, for which he was sculpture supervisor. In the 1940s Hord’s powerful carvings received national attention: he was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Americans 1942: Eighteen Artists from Nine States, elected a fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and twice awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1936 Hord began to teach sculpture at San Diego State College, and he subsequently taught at the Coronado School of Fine Arts, Coronado (San Diego), and Art Center in La Jolla.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Catherine Sullivan, "Donal Hord," American Artist 14 (October 1950): 49-52, 63, based on an interview with the artist § Janice Lovoos, "The Sculpture of Donal Hord," American Artist 23 (September 1959): 42-47, 67-69 § La Jolla, Calif., California First Bank, A Donal Hord Retrospective, exh. cat., 1976, with statement by the artist, essay by Homer Dana § Helen Ellsberg, "Donal Hord: Interpreter of the Southwest," American Art Review 4 (December 1977): 76-83, 126-30 § Bruce Kamerling, "Like the Ancients: The Art of Donal Hord," Journal of San Diego History 31 (Summer 1985): 164-209, with catalogue raisonné, chronology, bibliography.