Donal Hord

Donal Hord (February 26, 1902[1] – June 29, 1966), an American sculptor, was born Donald Horr in Prentice, Wisconsin.

(This piece, though carved into living rock may have been subsequently removed, for its whereabouts are listed as "missing" in the various inventories of Hord’s work.)

Because of his poor health Hord was primarily homeschooled, which led to his developing a very personal relationship with the San Diego Public Library and its attendant librarians.

1917 found Hord enrolling in art night classes at San Diego High School, under the tutelage of Anna Valentien, a sculptor and potter who had at one point studied in Paris with Auguste Rodin.

These remarks instilled Hord with a desire to only produce the finest quality pieces and led directly to what was to become one of the defining characteristics of his work, the fine degree of finish that he applied to them.

The ensuing years were to see the creation of some of Hord’s best-known and most endeared pieces, including the monumental Guardian of Water (1939),[3] which still stands in front of the San Diego County Administration Building, Aztec, located at San Diego State University, and seven limestone panels, Legend of California, for Coronado High School.

The years following the end of the Second World War found Hord at the height of his artistic prowess, producing not only many fine smaller works, but also, with the aid of Homer Dana, several large architectural works, notably two large concrete bas-reliefs for the San Diego Public Library's Central Library.

Besides the standard bronze, limestone, granite, cast stone, terra cotta, and the marbles used by other artists, Hord’s works appeared in various tropical woods such as mahogany, eucalyptus, ebony, lignum vitae, and rosewood, and in minerals such as obsidian, diorite, onyx and nephrite.