Four years ago, Harold T. Holden wasn’t sure if he should accept any more commissions. He wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to finish the pieces he had underway. “H,” as Holden has been known all his life, was so sick that he couldn’t walk. He couldn’t ride his horses. He could barely stand up. “I was just a couple of weeks away from dying,” he says.
Holden has pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that damages lung tissue and makes it difficult to breath. Although medication and therapy can help ease some of the symptoms, there is no cure. For many people, the best solution is a lung transplant. By the summer of 2010, that was Holden’s only hope.

Harold Holden

Strike Lightning
Bronze
18″ by 14″
“There is always a design challenge with sculpture, but action pieces are always fun to do to create movement that helps to tell the story of the piece.”

Harold Holden

Bueno
Bronze
13″ by 9.5″
“This is a new piece I created for Prix de West this year. I sculpted the relief around the horse’s neck to add a little more interest.”