About the artist
The son of an Air force officer, Colonel Clarence Horton II and Ann French, Walt was born in 1949. From a tender age he always had a way of making people smile. It wasn’t a surprise then when he chose cartooning as his first career. Walt went to the University of Colorado on a track scholarship in 1968, but his academic education wasn’t what prepared him for his life as an artist. That just came naturally, with a lot of hard work, learning as he went, an innate propensity to draw flourished.
Married in 1970 to Peggy, the family grew to include two very adventurous boys, Jesse and Benjamin. The boys were both born and raised in Bermuda. It was here that Walt’s cartooning matured and an advertising business specializing in humorous illustration became wildly successful.
It wasn’t until Walt reached his mid-forties that sculpture entered his life. Once that door opened it didn’t take long for the three-dimensional world of bronze sculpture to become his passion. He could still make people smile, grin and laugh out loud, but now it was a different medium and he could have twice as much fun doing it. By now the family had moved back to Colorado and for the next 15 years Walt’s bronze work was represented by various galleries around the country. In November 2009 a dream was realized. Walt and Peggy opened their own gallery, Walt Horton Fine Art, in Beaver Creek Colorado. The gallery features many fine artists, but the emphasis, of course, has always been Walt’s bronze work.
To the surprise of everyone Walt passed away in his sleep on March 28th, 2010. He’s greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. His art is still with us and still does the job Walt intended, to make the world a happier place.