b. 1947
Sculptor
                 
Steve Kestrel acquired a strong interest in and consequently an extensive knowledge of wildlife through his many outdoor childhood activities.  As a student enrolled in Eastern New Mexico University, he studied natural sciences.  Although he also studied sculpture at Colorado State University, he never completed his degree due to what he believed to be the creative restraints placed upon him by professors.  Upon leaving Colorado, Santa Fe sculptor Boris Gilbertson offered Kestrel a position as his apprentice. 

Kestrel prefers to carve directly in granite, slate, limestone, and sandstone – materials that are both extremely sensitive and difficult and require great strength and concentration.  His stone carvings forsake the use of a prior constructed model as Kestrel believes this method helps preserve “the soul of the stone”.  While his sculptures clearly evoke his animal subjects, they usually retain the natural shape of the raw material with which he is working.  Kestrel has also applied his talents to casting in bronze, which permits him to create more delicate forms not possible to create in stone.

He is a member of the National Sculpture Society as well as the Society of Animal Artists.  His works can be found in many private and corporate collections including the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas, the Gilgrease Museum in Oklahoma, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming.

Selected Recent Exhibitions
2009-2001 Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale, National Western Stock Show, Denver, CO
2009-1999 Western Visions – Miniatures and More Show, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
2009-1998 Prix de West Invitational, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
2009-1998 Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, Buffalo Bill Historical Museum, Cody, WY
2004 Rendezvous Silver Anniversary, Gilgrease Museum, Tulsa, OK

 Partial List of Collections:                 
                  National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
                  Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN
                  Buffalo Bill Historical Museum, Cody, WY
                  Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
                  Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA

                  Selected Awards and Honors
2009 Whitney Gallery 50th Anniversary, Buffalo Bill Historical Museum
                  2008 Best of Show, Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale
                  2007 People’s Choice Award, National Museum of Wildlife Art
                  2002 Donald R. Miller Memorial Award, Society of Animal Artists