World-renowned American sculptor Edward Eyth has been selected as the American Sport Art Museum and Archives’ (ASAMA) 2013 Sport Artist of the Year for his outstanding work in continuously creating sculptures that capture the spirit of the Olympics and sport.

Eyth joins painter Charles Billich as this year’s Sport Artists of the Year and they will be honored at the Academy’s 29th annual Awards of Sport event, “A Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete,” Thursday, Nov. 14 at the university’s Daphne, AL, campus.

“Eyth has displayed great passion in creating outstanding sport sculptures throughout the years,” said United States Sports Academy President and CEO Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich. “We are excited to honor him.”

Eyth said becoming a Sport Artist of the Year is a career highlight among his many impressive achievements.

“It’s an outstanding honor and career highlight to receive this award,” he said. “I’m genuinely grateful to the American Sport Art Museum and Archives for this recognition, and for their exceptional efforts in supporting athletic achievement, culture and the arts.”

Inspired by the beauty and eloquence of the human form, many of Eyth’s sculptures have been recognized internationally. The artist’s sculpture, “Balance,” which features a gymnast gracefully poised on a balance beam, was selected as winner in the sculpture category at the 2008 United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Sport and Art Contest. The sculpture was then a finalist at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Sport and Art Contest in Lausanne, Switzerland.

A graphic works finalist in the 2012 national contest for American artists, Eyth submitted “Olympic Spirit,” a painting that depicts a male and female athlete elevating the five rings that symbolize the Olympics. He did a similar large outdoor sculpture that received the Olympic Rings Award and was selected for inclusion in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Landscape Sculpture Design Exhibition.

“Balance” by Eyth won the 2008 USOC Sport and Art contest and was a finalist at the IOC competition.

In 2011, Eyth earned a silver medal at the National Art Museum of Sport Second Annual International “Commitment to Excellence in Art and Sport: A Fine Art Competition.”

Eyth’s sculptures are featured in select private collections around the globe and as part of the permanent collection at ASAMA, which arguably holds the largest collection of sport art in the world.

Throughout his distinguished career, Eyth has worked with famous filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. He has consulted on projects with the Smithsonian Institution, Universal Studios, Paramount Studios, Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney and Jim Henson Company.

He received degrees in visual communications and industrial design from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he was awarded a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement and graduated with distinction. Three years after graduation, Eyth was recruited by the Art Center College to teach an advanced visual communications course. In 1989, he was honored with the college’s “Great Teacher Award.”

In 1992 Eyth moved to New York City, where he instructed a design course at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has lectured at various colleges and educational institutions including Parson’s School of Design – New York; School of Visual Arts – New York; University of California, Los Angeles; Art Institute of Pittsburgh; Society of Illustrators; and the Puppetry Guild of Los Angeles.

While living in New York, Eyth studied old master paintings and sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art done by artists such as Carpeaux, Rodin, Veyrier, and Houdon along with collections of various ethnic works. Further research included the Louvre, Musée Rodin and other prominent museums in Europe. This immersion in the world of artistic masters reinforced Eyth’s passion for figurative art and prompted his transition to the full-time pursuit of sculpture and drawing.