The OLD DOWNTOWN GALLERY features the fine work in bronze of artist Wayne E. Hyde. Wayne's striking life-size bust of the Iroquois Warrior, "EYES OF THE FOREST" has become the Old Downtown Gallery's main feature.

Each delightful piece is museum quality pure bronze sculpture cast using the lost wax method. Every selection has been painstakingly created by the artist. Each bronze work of art takes many hours of detailed effort and is the most lasting form of art available.

Mankind has created artistic images of the world around him ever since the beginning of recorded history. Starting with the first smelting of metals, sculptures have been part of man's attempt to add beauty to his existence. Bronze sculptures have been found in the ruins of the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, in the burial tombs of Chinese emperors, and at the great Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculenium.

Each piece of Wayne Hyde's sculpture is an individual jewel. The website images cannot capture seeing the original with the glow of every living detail.

Wayne E. Hyde was born and raised in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, where he continues to live today, on his family's dairy farm, near Bedford. Wayne's studio is a second hand mobile home high on a hill on the farm. With a family history in North America spanning more than three hundred and twenty years, the 18th century is his favourite period in history.

With hardwood forest around his family farm, Wayne developed an avid interest in observing nature. For as long as he can can remember, he has been drawing, painting and sculpting. Wayne has no formal training in sculpting.

In 1991, Wayne produced his first bronze sculpture entitled "Oakwoods Whitetail", which was an overwhelming hit with collectors. Since then he has produced an amazing number of works that include caribou, elk, grizzly and black bears, wild turkeys, quail and more.

In 1996, Wayne's work became more focused on history, thanks to his association with Lord Nelson's Gallery in Gettysburg, a showplace for artists devoted to historical themes. This is where Brenda of the Old Downtown Gallery, met Wayne and the other artists featured at Lord Nelsons, all becoming a "family" focused on 17th and 18th century history, very much including Canada.

Every year in April, everyone meets at Lord Nelson's for what has become our "family reunion" at a show called "History Meets the Arts". Such notable artists and artisans as Robert Griffing, John Buxton, David Wright, Dean Morrissey, John Weiss, Wayne Hyde, Frank, Herschel and Lally House, John Barrett, Steve and Sue Shroyer, Bill and Selinda Kennedy and more display their works and share their latest historical research.

A nationally recognized artist, Wayne has exhibited across the USA from coast to coast and more recently, in Canada, through the Old Downtown Gallery.

The Old Downtown Gallery has introduced Wayne's amazing works to the Canadian market. With two shows in the past two years under our belts, and two more scheduled for this fall 2006, Wayne's works are gracing homes and offices in southern Ontario.

Together, the Old Downtown Gallery and Wayne have two totally "Canadian" bronzes in the works. A very special project will be announced soon.