Steve Winterburn is a world-renowned sculptor who offers an unparalleled diversity of work with his works ranging from lifelike wildlife, contemporary anthropomorphic pieces, human figurative, to one-of-a-kind commissions, his creativity knows no bounds. His clients include A-list musicians, actors, premier league footballers, high net worth individuals and major corporations. Over his career, which spans decades, Steve has exhibited with a number of well-established names from the fine-art world, including: Halcyon Gallery, Carrs Silver, Harrods, Monaco Fine Arts, Hickmet Fine Arts, Sotheby’s, Christies, LAPADA and BADA. People may also be familiar with his flagship piece at Wembley Stadium, which is one of many huge public bronzes he has created around the country: this spectacular bronze features five legends of sport and stands at 17ft tall and is now considered a Wembley landmark in its own right.
After many years relying on commercial foundries to cast and finish his work but producing underwhelming results and missing deadlines, Steve decided to dedicate a decade to mastering the process himself. He passed on this knowledge to his son, Ben Winterburn, who now runs the family foundry and studio. This added control allows every single piece to be designed, handcrafted and finished at the Winterburn studio meaning the essence and feel of the pieces is not lost, as the passion for the family brand is poured into every millimetre, with no third party involved. Talking on this Steve said “we deliver bespoke work at the highest end of the market. As a family we pour our heart and soul into it”. Having worked with precious metals for many years, Steve and his family have developed the specialist skills required to work with silver and gold and have now been granted their own British Hallmark, elevating the brand and their capabilities.
At the heart of the Winterburn family brand is the driving factor of Legacy, with Steve’s trademark “Bronze is as eternal as diamonds” really resonating that. Making bronze sculptures that will outlive generations to come is something that has been done for millennia in cultures across the globe, it is amazing to be able to add to this and be a part of it in a contemporary way. It is not just the longevity of the “Winterburn” name that is important however, it is about building joint Legacies with their clients. Steve says “sculpture is something that lives with you, it becomes part of your family and family’s legacy” and that’s exactly what the Winterburn’s aim to achieve with each piece. Making every sculpture not only an investment and heirloom for the family which possesses it, but also making it part of their own personal legacy.
As a long serving trustee and wildlife conservationist, Steve has travelled the world gaining inspiration and knowledge about animals. His career in fine art sculpture has been driven and built around this unwavering passion and giving back to wildlife through his medium has always been a major focal point. Through the decades he has consistently donated funds to various wildlife charities whether that be through gifting bronze sculptures for auctioning or other dedicated projects. Steve is still an active trustee for the Big Cat Sanctuary and is always working with the board thinking of how he can contribute through his art.
The latest Steve Winterburn collection is based solely around conservation. The new “Timeless Collection” has been a long time in the making and is a real passion driven project for both Steve and Winterburn Fine Art, the core values of the project are built around the fact that we as a planet are running out of time to save our beautiful animals and environment. To illustrate this Steve decided on the ellipse structure which resembles the two main focal points, our planet and time. It represents the dial of a time keeping device in its simplest form but further to that he pictures the spherical presence of the planet extending from the structure virtually encapsulating the sculpture in the centre. The subject poised in the centre in this way, as though it is captivated in a moment in time, creates a real atmosphere with the artwork which draws you in to the narrative behind the piece. All the component parts of the design start unfolding before you to tell its story, “That if we don’t act fast together as a planet then we will run out of time to protect and save our animals and they could well become a moment in time, gone”.
Contemporary art is currently one of the fastest growing interests in the investing community, with consistent returns of over 10% per annum in recent years and some galleries boasting returns of nearly 30% in the year of 2022. This increased awareness in hand creates more appeal and thus new collectors. With this in mind Steve’s latest collections, namely the Anthropomorphic and Timeless Collection in particular are much more contemporary in style and thinking, but still with wildlife at the heart of the designs. Steve sees this new influx of investing into contemporary art as the perfect platform for both raising awareness and funds for conservation and wildlife, “the aim is for my sculptures to not only be works of art, but ambassadors for the animals they depict”.
Combining the timeless bronze sculptures, with their solid core values in Legacy and in conserving our planet and wildlife, Winterburn Fine Art intend to build something everlasting and eternal. With most of the wildlife they portray being endangered and at risk, their sculptures in years to come may outlive these treasured species and for future generations make the intangible tangible. This longevity is something that is vital to the family and what they stand for, a quote from the great Andy Warhol encapsulates this nicely; “The idea is not to live forever, but to create something that will”.
