Dolores Cumley
Origin by Dolores Cumley
Dolores Cumley’s sculpture was created out of cement and entitled “Origins”. Her main goal for this piece was for children to play on it. Cumley studied at The University of Houston and Rice University. She was featured in many group exhibitions and is still in many private collections. Cumley was a member of the Texas Society of Sculptors until her death in 1987.
Born and raised in the midwest, Dolores devoted most of her life to artistic pursuits. In her early years she was a professional dancer. Later she worked in photography. After devoting several years to the demands of raising a family, she became intrigued with sculpture and took formal training in Houston
Her sculptured creations are largely expressions of. mood, whether basically anatomical figures or non-objective structures. Some of them, somber in tone and presentation;- reflect a deep concern for the contemporary human predicament.
This was particularly true of her work during the period of the nuclear bomb the period of the nuclear bomb scare.
Dolores’s figures are usually presented with their heads down in an humble or religious attitude. The mood prevailed for several years; occasionally during this time some figures evolved which were light, even frivolous and which virtually shout a release from care and the problems of the planet. But whether happy or depressed, her sculptured subjects are intense: her bronze dancers are in utter abandon, her dominate males dominate wholly.
Dolores prefered to work large and her more impressive creations are outdoor sculptures — Moebuis Form and others — done on concrete.