Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 4

Dan Super
"SAM HOUSTON" HORN CARVING 1936 TEXAS CENTENNIAL AMAZING WORK

1936

About the Item

Dan Super "SAM HOUSTON" (1873-1953) Houston Artist Image Size: 3 3/4 inches tall Medium: Carved Horn of Sam Houston to celebrate the Texas Centennial. Texas Centennial 1936 "Sam Houston Pin Cushion Holder" Biography Dan Super (1873-1953) Dan E. Super, Jr. (1873 – 1953) Dan Super had the eye of a sculptor, envisioning and then creating hundreds of objects from the elongated form of a Texas Longhorn’s tusk. At the age of six, Dan Super carved his first drawing into a piece of the horn of a Texas Longhorn. Over the next 56 years, he made utilitarian pieces like pencil cups, pin cushions, and backscratchers, realistic replicas of animals and birds, and imaginative carvings of elegant nudes. While these carvings resemble the traditional art of scrimshaw, carvings from whale bone, we’ve not been able to identify another carver who used the Texas Longhorn as his material. “My work is done with an ordinary pocketknife, hacksaw file and rasp,” Super wrote in 1937. He used the horn in every way conceivable; whole, allowing the shape to define the object he was making, flattened to make mosaic or inlay work. He incised and pierced it and carved in the round. His own hands polished the horn to a sheen. Daniel Super, Jr. was born in Houston on August 22, 1873. His father owned stock years, D. Super and Brothers Co., providing the young Super with ready access to his raw material. Throughout his life, he worked in the businesses key to the identity and success of young, booming Houston, cattle, oil, real estate and rail. In 1896 he married Lula, and took over the family business, expanding it to include a grocery. He closed the company in 1912 and got into the oil business and in 1917 he went to work for T&N O Railroad, from which he retired in 1926. He died on June 1. 1953. Super loved music and played 23 different instruments including a violin he carved. His most avid hobby was the longhorn carving collection, for which he received praise and acclaim. “I believe everyone should have a hobby, and I get lots of pleasure out of mine.” When the collection was displayed for the first time in 1926, it was insured for $2,000. Super would not accept money for his sculptures, although he gave many pieces away, including a hunting horn he sent to Teddy Roosevelt. Many of the carvings were made as gifts for his family and bear the names of his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Exhibition History2015-16, Made in America: Craft Icons of the 50 States, Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA 2001, It Aint Braggin’ If It’s True, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, Austin, TX 1998-99, Making Myth of Texas Junk: Dan Super, Emil Schneegass and D.D. Smalley, organized by The Orange Show Foundation at The Art League of Houston, Texas; Austin College, Sherman, TX 1996, Dan Super: Superb Craftsman of Horn, Heritage Society Museum, Houston, TX 1936, Cattleman’s Convention, Texas 1920, Leopold & Price, Houston, TX Public Collections Theodore Roosevelt’s Collection, Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, New York
  • Creator:
    Dan Super (1873 - 1953, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1936
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)Width: 2 in (5.08 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    PLEASE CHECK MY 1STDIBS STOREFRONT FOR OTHER VINTAGE, MID CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY TEXAS PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE, POTTERY, AND MORE!
  • Gallery Location:
    San Antonio, TX
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU769312516482
More From This SellerView All
  • "ASKING FOR RAIN" SNAKE DANCE NATIVE AMERICAN WESTERN INDIAN 20 X 10 X 10 BRONZE
    Located in San Antonio, TX
    Margaret Drake Texas Artist Size: 20 x 10 x 10 Medium: Bronze "Asking For Rain" Snake Dance Photos are no longer allowed at this ceremony. Biography Drake Drake Bio and Artist's Statement Bronze sculpture, Western art, human and animal, horse art, equine art, equine sculpture, horse sculpture, sculptures of dancers, bronze dancers, fine art, sculpture, bronzes Drake lives on a ranch near Glen Rose, Texas. Originally hailing from a small ranching community in northwestern Colorado, she has been around horses most of her life. After retiring from the medical industry in 2008, she devoted herself to a year of studying three-dimensional portraiture. After that, she focused on figurative art, taking multiple workshops at Scottsdale Artist's School. She works with both water- and oil-based clays, and creates realistic figures of the athletic human form, horses and other animals. Her work has been accepted into juried competitions such as: Bosque Art Classic, the American Academy of Equine Art Museum show, The Texas Masters of Fine Arts and Crafts, the Breckenridge Fine Art Show, the Mountain Oyster Show, Little Rock's "Sculpture at the River market", Cattlemen’s Western Art Show Loveland Sculpture in the Park, and the Museum of Western Art Awards include "Best of Show" 2016, at Breckenridge Fine Art ShowIn 2017, the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas acquired one of Drake's pieces for permanent exhibition. In 2019 and 2020, Drake was selected to be one of two sculptors who taught elite art students at the Western Art Academy at Schreiner University, Kerrville Texas. Artist's Statement What is "ART" if it doesn't arouse strong emotion from the viewer? I strive to express strength, grace, motion, rhythm, and beauty. Working in the mediums of both water- and oil-based clays, I look for topics that will allow me to express symmetry, balance, rhythm, and motion, as well as beauty. My subject matter comes from my own imagination. I have always been an animal lover, and I have always been fascinated with the grace, beauty, and strength of true athletes. My favorite tool is a kitchen paring knife...
    Category

    2010s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • "OHITIKA II" NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN BRONZE 26 x 10 x 10
    Located in San Antonio, TX
    Drake Texas Artist Image Size: 26 x 10 x 10 Medium: Bronze "Ohitika II" Biography Drake Drake Bio and Artist's Statement Bronze sculpture, Western art, human and animal, horse art, equine art, equine sculpture, horse sculpture, sculptures of dancers, bronze dancers, fine art, sculpture, bronzes Drake lives on a ranch near Glen Rose, Texas. Originally hailing from a small ranching community in northwestern Colorado, she has been around horses most of her life. After retiring from the medical industry in 2008, she devoted herself to a year of studying three-dimensional portraiture. After that, she focused on figurative art, taking multiple workshops at Scottsdale Artist's School. She works with both water- and oil-based clays, and creates realistic figures of the athletic human form, horses and other animals. Her work has been accepted into juried competitions such as: Bosque Art Classic, the American Academy of Equine Art Museum show, The Texas Masters of Fine Arts and Crafts, the Breckenridge Fine Art Show, the Mountain Oyster Show, Little Rock's "Sculpture at the River market", Cattlemen’s Western Art Show Loveland Sculpture in the Park, and the Museum of Western Art Awards include "Best of Show" 2016, at Breckenridge Fine Art ShowIn 2017, the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas acquired one of Drake's pieces for permanent exhibition. In 2019 and 2020, Drake was selected to be one of two sculptors who taught elite art students at the Western Art Academy at Schreiner University, Kerrville Texas. Artist's Statement What is "ART" if it doesn't arouse strong emotion from the viewer? I strive to express strength, grace, motion, rhythm, and beauty. Working in the mediums of both water- and oil-based clays, I look for topics that will allow me to express symmetry, balance, rhythm, and motion, as well as beauty. My subject matter comes from my own imagination. I have always been an animal lover, and I have always been fascinated with the grace, beauty, and strength of true athletes. My favorite tool is a kitchen paring knife...
    Category

    2010s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • "TATANKA" BISON BUFFALO SIZE: 11 X 13 X 5 BRONZE 6/20
    Located in San Antonio, TX
    Drake Texas Artist Image Size: 11 x 13 x 5 Medium: Bronze "Tatanka" Bison Buffalo Biography Drake Drake Bio and Artist's Statement Bronze sculpture, Western art, human and animal, horse art, equine art, equine sculpture, horse sculpture, sculptures of dancers, bronze dancers, fine art, sculpture, bronzes Drake lives on a ranch near Glen Rose, Texas. Originally hailing from a small ranching community in northwestern Colorado, she has been around horses most of her life. After retiring from the medical industry in 2008, she devoted herself to a year of studying three-dimensional portraiture. After that, she focused on figurative art, taking multiple workshops at Scottsdale Artist's School. She works with both water- and oil-based clays, and creates realistic figures of the athletic human form, horses and other animals. Her work has been accepted into juried competitions such as: Bosque Art Classic, the American Academy of Equine Art Museum show, The Texas Masters of Fine Arts and Crafts, the Breckenridge Fine Art Show, the Mountain Oyster Show, Little Rock's "Sculpture at the River market", Cattlemen’s Western Art Show Loveland Sculpture in the Park, and the Museum of Western Art Awards include "Best of Show" 2016, at Breckenridge Fine Art ShowIn 2017, the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas acquired one of Drake's pieces for permanent exhibition. In 2019 and 2020, Drake was selected to be one of two sculptors who taught elite art students at the Western Art Academy at Schreiner University, Kerrville Texas. Artist's Statement What is "ART" if it doesn't arouse strong emotion from the viewer? I strive to express strength, grace, motion, rhythm, and beauty. Working in the mediums of both water- and oil-based clays, I look for topics that will allow me to express symmetry, balance, rhythm, and motion, as well as beauty. My subject matter comes from my own imagination. I have always been an animal lover, and I have always been fascinated with the grace, beauty, and strength of true athletes. My favorite tool is a kitchen paring knife...
    Category

    2010s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • "COMANCHE SPIRIT" SIZE: 22 X 18 X 10 BRONZE
    Located in San Antonio, TX
    Drake Texas Artist Image Size: 22 x 18 x 10 Medium: Bronze "Comanche Spirit" Drake Bio and Artist's Statement Bronze sculpture, Western art, human and animal, horse art, equine art, equine sculpture, horse sculpture, sculptures of dancers, bronze dancers, fine art, sculpture, bronzes Drake lives on a ranch near Glen Rose, Texas. Originally hailing from a small ranching community in northwestern Colorado, she has been around horses most of her life. After retiring from the medical industry in 2008, she devoted herself to a year of studying three-dimensional portraiture. After that, she focused on figurative art, taking multiple workshops at Scottsdale Artist's School. She works with both water- and oil-based clays, and creates realistic figures of the athletic human form, horses and other animals. Her work has been accepted into juried competitions such as: Bosque Art Classic, the American Academy of Equine Art Museum show, The Texas Masters of Fine Arts and Crafts, the Breckenridge Fine Art Show, the Mountain Oyster Show, Little Rock's "Sculpture at the River market", Cattlemen’s Western Art Show Loveland Sculpture in the Park, and the Museum of Western Art Awards include "Best of Show" 2016, at Breckenridge Fine Art ShowIn 2017, the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas acquired one of Drake's pieces for permanent exhibition. In 2019 and 2020, Drake was selected to be one of two sculptors who taught elite art students at the Western Art Academy at Schreiner University, Kerrville Texas. Artist's Statement What is "ART" if it doesn't arouse strong emotion from the viewer? I strive to express strength, grace, motion, rhythm, and beauty. Working in the mediums of both water- and oil-based clays, I look for topics that will allow me to express symmetry, balance, rhythm, and motion, as well as beauty. My subject matter comes from my own imagination. I have always been an animal lover, and I have always been fascinated with the grace, beauty, and strength of true athletes. My favorite tool is a kitchen paring knife...
    Category

    2010s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • "COMANCHE SONG" SIZE: 22 X 18 X 10 BRONZE
    Located in San Antonio, TX
    Drake Texas Artist Image Size: 22 x 18 x 10 Medium: Bronze "Comanche Song" Drake Bio and Artist's Statement Bronze sculpture, Western art, human and animal, horse art, equine art, equine sculpture, horse sculpture, sculptures of dancers, bronze dancers, fine art, sculpture, bronzes Drake lives on a ranch near Glen Rose, Texas. Originally hailing from a small ranching community in northwestern Colorado, she has been around horses most of her life. After retiring from the medical industry in 2008, she devoted herself to a year of studying three-dimensional portraiture. After that, she focused on figurative art, taking multiple workshops at Scottsdale Artist's School. She works with both water- and oil-based clays, and creates realistic figures of the athletic human form, horses and other animals. Her work has been accepted into juried competitions such as: Bosque Art Classic, the American Academy of Equine Art Museum show, The Texas Masters of Fine Arts and Crafts, the Breckenridge Fine Art Show, the Mountain Oyster Show, Little Rock's "Sculpture at the River market", Cattlemen’s Western Art Show Loveland Sculpture in the Park, and the Museum of Western Art Awards include "Best of Show" 2016, at Breckenridge Fine Art ShowIn 2017, the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas acquired one of Drake's pieces for permanent exhibition. In 2019 and 2020, Drake was selected to be one of two sculptors who taught elite art students at the Western Art Academy at Schreiner University, Kerrville Texas. Artist's Statement What is "ART" if it doesn't arouse strong emotion from the viewer? I strive to express strength, grace, motion, rhythm, and beauty. Working in the mediums of both water- and oil-based clays, I look for topics that will allow me to express symmetry, balance, rhythm, and motion, as well as beauty. My subject matter comes from my own imagination. I have always been an animal lover, and I have always been fascinated with the grace, beauty, and strength of true athletes. My favorite tool is a kitchen paring knife...
    Category

    2010s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • "WINE DANCE" WOMAN FIGURE
    Located in San Antonio, TX
    Scy Caroselli Colorado Artist Image Size: 25 inches tall Medium: Bronze "Wine Dance" Scy has been surrounded by fine art throughout her entire life. She grew up beside the easel and ...
    Category

    2010s Impressionist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

You May Also Like
  • Bollel Child and conch shell. Original multiple bronze sculpture
    Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
    BOLLEL. Child and conch shell. Original multiple bronze sculpture
    Category

    1980s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • TURTLE TRAIN
    By W Stanley Proctor
    Located in Tallahassee, FL
    Life size child on life size tortoise. Combination of young child's imagination and reality.
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • "On the Wings of an Eagle", Chester Fields, Bronze and Steel Sculpture, 54x40x24
    By Chester Fields
    Located in Dallas, TX
    "On the Wings of an Eagle by Chester Fields is one of his most popular sculptures. This is number 26 of 75 made. It is made with the following: Bronze Casting Deluxe Patina Gold Beak...
    Category

    1990s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze, Stainless Steel

  • Antique Dog: Bulldog Playing with a Mouse- Henri Émile Adrien Trodoux ca. 1870s
    Located in SANTA FE, NM
    Antique Bronze Dog Bulldog Playing with a Mouse on Sheaves of Wheat Henri Émile Adrien Trodoux (1815-1881) 6 1/8 x 3 7/5 inches Signed on the terrace Henri Émile Adrien Trodoux (Fre...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Big Fish Story
    By Jane DeDecker
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    Sculpture of two boys displaying a sizeable catch.
    Category

    1990s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Cat's Cradle
    By Bill Starke
    Located in Denver, CO
    "Cat's Cradle" is a limited edition sculpture created by Bill Starke depicting a figure playing with string. About the artist: Human beings interacting, colliding, cooperating, striving, & achieving are the themes I wish to portray in my sculptures. My observations on the human condition are meant to be both humorous and thought provoking. Bill Starke's "Free Man" is everything that good art should be: technically superb, brilliantly composed, emotionally powerful and visually arresting... like George Stubbs, the 18th century English master...
    Category

    2010s Realist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

Recently Viewed

View All