In addition to being one of America’s leading civil engineers, Robert Holmes gained considerable acclaim as a self-taught sculptor. His abstract and contemporary bronzes convey strength, grace, optimism and serenity and are reminiscent of the works of Auguste Rodin, Constantin Brâncuși, Gaston Lachaise and Henry Moore.
Holmes was born in 1927 in Missouri, where he grew up amid the Great Depression. He had an instinctive talent for design and, in his teens, helped his father build houses. Holmes later attended the University of Arizona, earning a degree in civil engineering.
In the early 1950s, Holmes moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he established the Robert Holmes Construction, Design and Development Company. He specialized in designing contemporary homes in the Bay Area before he relocated the business to Arizona in 1958.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Holmes was among Arizona’s most successful luxury home builders. His company also designed and built churches, banks, bridges, apartments and manufacturing plants.
In 1981, Holmes decided to pursue a second career as a sculptor and sold his business. With his wife, Edith, he moved to the Sea Ranch, a community located north of San Francisco. Over the next several years, Holmes worked with local foundries to create his sculptures but was dissatisfied with the process. In 1989, he formed his own bronze foundry — Bronze Plus — enabling him to oversee all aspects of production and forge relationships with other bronze artists.
Holmes’s abstract and figurative sculptures garnered attention from art critics and gallery owners across the United States. His semi-abstract and curvilinear works range from table-sized miniatures such as Pas De Tres and Dancers on Toe to large-scale monumental sculptures like The Game and Bull and Ball.
Holmes’s works have been exhibited extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia. His sculptures are in private, corporate and public collections, such as the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California, and the Hyatt Regency in San Diego. He died in 2016.
On 1stDibs, discover Robert Holmes’s dynamic sculptures.
Arched Dancers 2 (Miniature) #11/40
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
$39,600
Tossa De Mar
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
Bronze A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-kno...
Bronze
Arabesque (miniature) - 24 Karat Gold plated
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Gold, Bronze
Reverse (miniature) - 24 Karat Gold plated
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Gold, Bronze
$2,500
H 2.7 in Dm 2.7 in
Double Sided Gold Plated Medallion (Limited Edition; Signed and Stamped)
By Arnaldo Pomodoro
Located in New York, NY
ARNALDO POMODORO Double Sided Gold Plated Medallion, 1985 Bronze with Gold Patina 2 7/10 × 2 7/10 × 3/10 inches Limited Edition of 500 Signed by artist with incised signature; Stampe...
Gold, Bronze
Large Bronze Abstract Sculpture of a Bird in Flight
Located in San Francisco, CA
This large, horizontal bronze sculpture is a modernist work typically referred to as "Bird" or "Bird in Flight." Made of cast bronze with a smooth polished or patinated finish, it is...
Bronze
$5,900
H 13 in W 9 in D 6 in
"Clara" Bronze Sculpture 13" x 9" x 6" inch by Sarkis Tossonian
By Sarkis Tossonian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Clara" Bronze Sculpture 13" x 9" x 6" inch by Sarkis Tossonian Sarkis Tossoonian was born in Alexandria in 1953. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts/Sculpture in 1979. He st...
Bronze
$4,400
H 9.85 in W 7.88 in D 5.91 in
Forest Ape I - 21st Century bronze sculpture of a Orangutan
By Antoinette Briet
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Antoinette Briet (Dutch artist) Forest Ape I 25 x 20 x 15 cm Bronze Antoinette Briet's sculpture can be called both a figurative and an abstract work of art. Her sculpted animals sh...
Bronze
$6,300
H 6.3 in W 5.12 in D 3.94 in
"Cinnilla" Bronze Sculpture 16" x 13" x 10" inch by Sarkis Tossonian
By Sarkis Tossonian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Cinnilla" Bronze Sculpture 16" x 13" x 10" inch by Sarkis Tossonian Sarkis Tossoonian was born in Alexandria in 1953. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts/Sculpture in 1979. ...
Bronze
Milestones
By Victor Prodanchuk
Located in Edinburgh, GB
A series of works .. ANCIENT .. ..FOREST .. ..AQUA .. all these series have a magical connection with each other. They have the ancient spirit of past civilizations and sections of d...
Bronze
Sfera con perforazione
By Arnaldo Pomodoro
Located in London, GB
An exceptional example of Arnaldo Pomodoro’s iconic Sfera con Sfera series, — a pivotal period in the artist’s exploration of fractured geometric perfection. Signed, dated "'66," and...
Bronze
$6,500
H 2.88 in W 2.25 in
Vintage Abstract Expressionist Ibram Lassaw Modernist Bronze Sculpture Pendant
By Ibram Lassaw
Located in Surfside, FL
IBRAM LASSAW (Russian-American, 1913-2003), Sculptural pendant Gold plated bronze Signed verso Measurements: 2-7/8''h, 2-1/4''w. Ibram Lassaw was born in Alexandria, Egypt, of Rus...
Gold, Bronze
Mandela
By Hans Van de Bovenkamp
Located in Greenwich, CT
Dutch, b. 1938 Renowned for his monumental sculpture created primarily for open-air public locales, Hans Van de Bovenkamp has been described as an artist-mystic whose work -- with i...
Bronze, Stainless Steel
$7,000
H 4 in W 6.5 in D 5.5 in
Abstract Bronze Sculpture, Unique Signed work from the estate of Arthur Carr
By Peter Reginato
Located in New York, NY
Peter Reginato Abstract Bronze Sculpture, ca. 1987 Bronze Signed on the underside 4 × 6 1/2 × 5 1/2 inches This bronze sculpture is by the American abstract sculptor Peter Reginato. ...
Bronze
$6,250
H 27 in W 11 in
"Gloria" Bronze and Marble sculpture 27" x 11" in by Ibrahim Abd Elmalak
By Ibrahim Abd Elmalak
Located in Culver City, CA
"Gloria" Bronze and Marble sculpture 27" x 11" in by Ibrahim Abd Elmalak Gloria, 2007 Bronze & Marble 68 x 27 cm, Signed & Dated Sculptures that mostly depict his charact...
Marble, Bronze
$7,200
H 48 in W 34 in D 22 in
Bronze Hand Sculptures – Folk Art Hitching Post Study (Convertible Mirror Frame)
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A pair of cast bronze hand sculptures inspired by a mid-19th century cast iron folk art hitching post from the southern United States. Strongly modeled with expressive anatomical det...
Bronze
Arched Dancers 2 (Small) AP
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Arabesque (miniature) #3/40
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Dancers (Miniature) Turquoise Patina #2/40
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Solo (miniature) - 24 Karat Gold plated
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze, Gold
Solo (miniature)
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Pas De Tres (miniature unique)
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Pas De Tres (miniature, unique)
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Just Dancing AP2 (Medium)
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Mr. G, Small - High Polish
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Banana, High Polish
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Arched Dancers 2, Miniature, AP 2
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze
Solo, Small AP 1
By Robert Holmes
Located in Napa, CA
A civil engineer for 30 years, Holmes has been exhibiting and selling his sculptures since 1975 in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He is now very well-known for h...
Bronze