The following biography is based on an article in the July 13, 1997 issue of Seguin TX Gazette Enterprise and information provided by Boyd Perry’s wife Elaine. Included are links to examples of Boyd's art.
When there was nothing to do on the farm, you wouldn't find him climbing trees or fishing, the young Boyd Perry would be busy carving – nothing short of an obsession it was and continued to be throughout his life. Boyd grew up near Tatum on the high plains of eastern New Mexico near the west Texas panhandle. He said he was "a stray in the family of six boys and three girls”. Boyd and his twin brother were born on January 30, 1939, the youngest of the nine children.
“For some odd reason I became interested in wood carving, drawing and sculpting. Nothing else seemed to matter or held any importance to me," he said. His obsession with carving began about the age of 12. His first carvings were made out of his mother's lye soap, which was okay by her as long he saved the shavings. Not too "academically inclined", he even carved in class, which was also okay with his teacher as long as he paid attention and cleaned up his mess.
Not one for the books, he finally quit college and went into the army, followed by a stint with the Amarillo Police Department. He married his first wife Gail in 1966 and got a "ready-made family." He soon realized his income was not quite enough and earned a nursing diploma. This was then followed by another stint in the military, but this time as an Air Force flight nurse which took him to Vietnam. He eventually returned to the Army. All the while Boyd continued his carvings in his spare time. In 1979 Boyd married his second wife, Elaine.
In 1980 Boyd left the army as a captain. That's when he began pursuing his career as a sculptor full-time. He had been carving wood but in 1981 he discovered wax and “sculpey”, both of which were more versatile than wood.
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His first exposure to the collectibles market was in 1980 when a company called "Battle Ax" in Minneapolis, MN, introduced about two dozen western miniatures called "Boyd Perry Miniatures". They were carved of wood and molds were pulled off the wood and cast in pewter. That same year Schmid introduced Boyd’s western sculptures in resin cast porcelain with a line of six 6-inch cowboys produced by Border Fine Arts of Scotland, "Wind River Roundup". Boyd stuck to a western style on all his characters and figures because that's what he enjoyed doing. His figures are of a caricature style and he used exaggeration in proportion in his pieces. But he could also do realistic-styled pieces as demonstrated by his exquisitely sculptured birds arid other pieces.
In 1985 he signed on with Kellogg Inc. with three lines, "Wind River Collection", the "Little Rascals" and the "Little Heavyweights". The Wind River Collection was successful but Kellogg went out of business and Schmid took over all three lines. Schmid eventually dropped the lines and Perry worked with companies such as Ron Lee, Hummelwerk and others. In 1991 he signed up with Rawcliffe Corporation to produce his collections of pewter pieces, the most notable being "Boyd Perry's Little America". He also did some large pewter pieces and would have them custom painted on request as exemplified by "The Last Load". Boyd later did a line of resin cast porcelain figurines with Bubelino in Mexico called "Wind River Ranch". This series was inspired by Boyd Perry’s own childhood on the farm and his parents' life. He designed it as art for kid's to collect. Boyd also did a line of Texas Collectibles entitled "Forever Texas". These were produced in Texas using cold cast porcelain.
Boyd wanted to tell a story along with his figurines, a story of life on the frontier. His parents were frontier people, they lived in a small two-room house and raised nine kids. He said he didn’t know how they did it but somehow they always had plenty to eat and clothes to wear, even if they had some holes. He said he had a fun life and wouldn't trade it for anything and that's what he wanted to portray to kids. Boyd also wrote his memoirs about his early years on the farm. It was important to Boyd to create something kids could collect, enjoy and learn something from.
Boyd passed away on February 15, 2005. He left a great legacy with his art, examples of which you can see at the links provided in this biography. We think you will agree Boyd Perry did create art that kids “of all ages” could collect, enjoy and learn something from.
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The following was not part of the preceeding article. It is provided to answer the question that we frequently get from collectors.
The PH that Boyd Perry put on his art was the brand that his father Henry Perry used on the family farm where he grew up.
