ED HAMILTON

Acclaimed sculptor specializing in public art

Ed Hamilton is a sculptor whose public art pieces have been installed and celebrated across the country.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hamilton was raised in Louisville, Kentucky. Entering adulthood in the height of the Civil Rights movement, he channeled much of his feelings and observations on the country’s march toward progress through his sculpture. He graduated from the Louisville School of Art in 1969. In the early seventies, while studying at both the University of Louisville and Spalding College, he met the established sculptor Barney Bright, who accepted Hamilton as an apprentice. 

Since this mentorship, he has won several awards, including the Black Achiever of the Year in 1990 and the 1996 Governor’s Award in the Arts, and received many honorary degrees for his contribution to sculpture. Perhaps best known for his piece “The Spirit of Freedom” at the African American Civil War Memorial, his sculpture continues to generate enthusiasm across the country.