H. C. Westermann

Horace Clifford Westermann (December 11, 1922 – November 3, 1981) was an American sculptor and printmaker. His sculptures frequently incorporate traditional carpentry, marquetry techniques, mixed media, and a range of personal, literary, artistic, and pop-cultural references.

Westermann's craftsmanship and uncanny, sometimes humorous presentation has led critics to compare his work to that of Surrealist-inspired artists such as Joseph Cornell, as well as Assemblage, Dada and Folk art.

Biography Nouveau Rat Trap by H. C. Westermann, 1965, birch plywood, rosewood, metal, rubber bumpers, Honolulu Museum of Art

Horace Clifford (H.C.) Westermann was born in Los Angeles, California in December 1922. His father of the same name was an accountant. From an early age H.C. Westermann demonstrated a natural talent and aptitude for the arts, specifically sculpting. He designed and ultimately created his personal scooters and toys, eventually contributing a small addition to his parents’ home.

After graduating from high school, Westermann briefly enrolled in Los Angeles City College and later took a job in the Pacific Northwest as a rail worker in logging camps. Westermann also witnessed the destruction of the USS Franklin involving the loss of 800 men. He would later reflect on the experience of witnessing the USS Franklin's destruction, describing "the horrible smell of death."

Feeling bitter and fed up with the current state of American art and unhappy with his personal life, Westermann reenlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1950 as an infantryman in the Korean War.

Westermann had a second major museum retrospective in May 1978 at the Whitney Museum, eventually touring to SFMOMA, the Seattle Art Museum. Des Moines Art Center, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.