‘The Young Prince’ Stole The Show

‘The Young Price’ created by S.W. Huffman on display in downtown Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – During the 2018 Art on the Square, one piece of work continually drew a crowd to the southwest corner of the square.

The larger than life draft horse sculpture titled ‘The Young Prince’ was created by Steven W. Huffman, and he owns Metal Scapes by S.W. Huffman.

The sculpture is created from scrap tools and weighs in at 1992 pounds.

When it comes to the number of hours to create ‘The Young Prince,’ Huffman estimates that he worked on and off for a year on the piece. “It takes more time to find the pieces to apply to the sculpture than it does to construct the sculpture.”

The work started out as a drawing to scale that was eventually transferred to metal tubing to become the framework of the sculpture. “Then I start all this time thinking about pieces that will demonstrate muscle tone, jawline, or flank or what can I use for the fetlocks.”

Huffman said that the story behind ‘The Young Prince’ is that he performs “his daily work and toil in the field, but who dreams of the day that he can pull and carry the precious cargo. Until then, he pulls on.”

Huffman said that he made his sculpture larger than life on purpose. “When you are making art, you need to make a dramatic effect. If you were standing to a Clydesdale horse, as this is designed after, you would still feel that height and that presence of the real horse.”

Huffman’s interest in metal sculpture spun off his work as a landscape contractor. “2010, I was looking for something that would make a focal point in my landscaping. That’s when I started making these abstract sculptures.”

Huffman then started attending art shows with his creations, and other conversations with other artists lead him to further develop and refine his art.

The Oskaloosa Art on the Square is now the only art show that Huffman is participating in this year. “Oskaloosa’s been really good to me. It’s a creative community; art-minded, progressive, clean community.”

Huffman has a permanent piece on display in front of the Oskaloosa Fire Department.

‘The Waiting Game’ is the hawk that looks out upon Oskaloosa. “The hawk is very similar to the firemen and the paramedics. He scans the environment and the landscape waiting for something to happen, and he’ll make the attack. Same as the firemen and the paramedics. At a moment’s notice, they’re gone.”

“How do you price art,” is the question that Huffman works to answer.

Checking with other artists and friends in the field, Huffman believes that his creative works of art are similarly priced as others around the country. Prices for sculptures can vary depending upon the amount of detail.

Over time, Huffman says his work is evolving more towards site-specific sculptures, where he’s commissioned to build a piece that represents the location it will be displayed, such as conservation areas.

‘The Young Prince’ can be yours for $48,000. You can reach out to Huffman at steve@swhuffman.com to arrange the details.