A painter for many years, Patsy Lane discovered sculpting later in life after attending the Prix de West exhibition at the Cowboy Hall of Fame, now known as the Western Heritage and Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. What Lane saw at that exhibition, plus her exposure to cattle and horses on a ranch in Oklahoma growing up, planted the seeds. After befriending Mehl Lawson, bronze sculptor and member of Cowboy Artists of America in 1982 and attending a workshop in Texas, Lane’s career in bronze sculpture took root and blossomed. “My work is a story brought to life in bronze. The story lives forever and is hopefully shared with others. A piece of art, whether a painting or a sculpture, is a joy in the home or workspace, something to instill emotion each time you look at it. I hope this is what my work does.”

Lane’s sculptures of bears, horses, elk, and dogs, are able to tell stories—a mother bear, fish in her mouth, leadings her cubs; a curious bobcat investigating a leaping frog; a horse chase—even while frozen in the moment in bronze. Lane is a member of the Oklahoma Sculpture Society and the Holdenville Society of Painters and Sculptors. The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum is proud to not only own one of her bronzes in its collection, but to host this exhibition of her works in 2023