David Cargill Bio

David Cargill, born in 1929, is a Beaumont sculptor who works in wood, marble, stone, terra cotta, lead and bronze. Cargill is known for portraits and other figurative work.

Cargill moved with his family to Beaumont in 1935. The artist first enrolled at Rice University from 1946-1948 where he studied pre-med. By the fall of 1948, he changed career paths and began studying industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York where he met his wife Patricia. They were married in 1950, and in 1951 returned to Beaumont where Cargill received his first commissions for portrait busts and murals. Cargill received his Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1955 and soon thereafter embarked on travels to Europe. In 1962 he returned to Europe to cast commissions in Italy.

Cargill was commissioned to create numerous pieces in the Beaumont area, including the AMSET bronze sculpture, "Men of Vision," of the four Rogers brothers, founders of TSO and local supporters of the arts.

Cargill received an AIA award for Stations of the Cross sculptures commissioned for St. Basil's at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas.