Glenna Goodacre: A Sculptor Who Captured the Spirit of America

At The Red Piano Art Gallery, we celebrate artists whose work has profoundly shaped American art, and Glenna Goodacre stands among the most influential. For over five decades, Goodacre’s bronze sculptures radiated life, movement, and emotion. With more than 600 works to her name, her artistry ranged from massive public memorials to the smallest coin in U.S. circulation. Her legacy is not only measured in the size or number of her creations, but in their lasting cultural and historical impact.

Iconic Works That Defined a Career
Visitors to The Red Piano Art Gallery often recognize Goodacre’s name from her most celebrated creation, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, unveiled in 1993 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This moving monument honors the women who served in the Vietnam War, capturing both strength and compassion in bronze.

In 2002, Goodacre completed her largest work, the Irish Memorial at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, a sweeping tribute to the courage and resilience of Irish immigrants. Her smallest creation is known to nearly every American, the obverse of the Sacagawea U.S. Dollar, first minted in 2000.

Among her many bronze portraits, After The Ride, a 7½-foot sculpture of President Ronald Reagan, is a favorite. Commissioned in 1998 for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, a second casting was placed at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Another celebrated figure, her larger-than-life statue of Colonel Earl “Red” Blaik, graces the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Awards and Honors
Goodacre’s artistry earned recognition across the art world and beyond. She was an academician of the National Academy of Design, a fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and the recipient of numerous exhibition awards. Her alma mater, Colorado College, and her hometown’s Texas Tech University both awarded her honorary doctorates.

Her life-size Crossing the Prairie won the James Earl Fraser Sculpture Award at the Prix De West Exhibition in 2002. That same year, she received the Texas Medal of Arts and was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Lubbock, Texas, named a major street after her in 2005, and she was honored with the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2008, she was named Notable New Mexican by the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.

At The Red Piano Art Gallery, these accolades serve as a reminder of Goodacre’s far-reaching influence and the deep respect she earned from both the art world and the public.

Later Career and Legacy
In 2009, marking her 40th year as a sculptor, Goodacre’s career was celebrated with exhibitions and a comprehensive 240-page book. That same year, her only life-size marble, The Bather, was gifted to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum at Oklahoma University. Her studies for the Sacagawea Dollar were added to the Smithsonian National Numismatic Collection in 2010.

Her final public exhibition, “Conflict in Bronze,” ran from 2015 to 2016 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Later that year, due to declining health, Goodacre announced her retirement, destroyed her molds, and donated her studio materials and tools to the New Mexico School for the Arts.

On November 11, 2018, the 25th Anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial was celebrated with her remarks in the program booklet. Glenna Goodacre passed away on April 13, 2020, at her home in Santa Fe, where she had lived and worked since 1983.

An Enduring Influence
At The Red Piano Art Gallery, we are honored to showcase the work of Glenna Goodacre, an artist who mastered the rare ability to blend historical storytelling with deeply personal expression. From the smallest coin to monumental public works, her art tells stories of history, humanity, and the American spirit.

Her sculptures continue to inspire and captivate collectors and art lovers alike, proving that great sculpture does more than capture a likeness, it captures a legacy.