b. 1903 d. 1976
Site Affiliation: Opus 40 Sculpture Park and Museum
Born 25 December, 1903 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but raised in Texas, Harvey Fite tried his hand at a number of different careers before he discovered his passion for sculpture. At 23 he received a scholarship to study for the ministry on the east coast but soon abandoned the church for a life on the stage, touring with the Jitney Players. During that time, he discovered carving and realized that was his true calling. In 1938 he bought an abandoned quarry for the materials. He got a job teaching theater and sculpture at his alma mater, now called Bard College, built a two-story studio home on his property, and spent any free time sculpting. To display his sculpture, he planned to convert the rubble in the quarry into a series of ramps and pedestals to create an outdoor gallery. Soon, however, he realized it had become a work of art in itself. He spent the rest of his life working tirelessly, alone and by hand, to create Opus 40.
Primary Medium: Sculpture
Primary Stylistic Term: Figurative, Representational, Symbolism, and abstraction
HAHS Affiliations: Harvey Fite’s wife, Barbara Fairbanks Fite’s father, (artist Frank Perley Fairbanks) was good friends with Albin Polasek, both fellows at the American Academy in Rome where Fairbanks went on to become Director of the Academy.
Fun Fact: Always an avid skier, in winter months when he wasn’t able to work outside on his quarry, Harvey Fite became a member of the Hunter Mountain ski patrol.
Recommended Publications: Probing the Earth: Contemporary Land Projects by John Beardsley (1977), Harvey Fite’s Opus 40: From Private Garden to Public Art Work by Deborah W. Dalton from The Meaning of Gardens (1992); Earthworks and Beyond: Contemporary Art in the Landscape by John Beardsley (1984)