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David Cargill is a Texas artist creating sculpture in bronze, wood, marble, terra cotta and other media.

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Artist David Cargill - Tyrrell Historical Library Collection (1981)

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PM Magazine segment for Beaumontâs KDFM-TV about artist and sculptor, David Cargill

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David Cargill: The Lighter Side Film | Art Museum of Southeast Texas

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Local News

"It's hard to imagine a world without him," his daughter told 12News. "He lived at a different pace than almost anyone I know."

Author: Scott Eslinger (12NewsNow)

Published: 12:01 PM CDT July 14, 2025

BEAUMONT, Texas - David Cargill, a prominent sculptor whose work helped define the public image of art in Southeast Texas for more than 50 years, died Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Beaumont, his family confirmed. He was 96.

Cargill, who was born in Huntsville in February 1929, had been sculpting professionally his entire adult life, working in wood, marble, stone, terra cotta, lead and bronze, according. His daughter, IdaKatherine Graver, said a small "Celebration of Life" is planned for family and friends sometime in August.

"It's hard to imagine a world without him," Graver told 12News. "He lived at a different pace than almost anyone I know."

Cargill moved with his family to Beaumont in 1935 when he was 6-years-old and spent nearly all of his life in the city, according to Lamar University. He built his own home in Old Town, where he lived for about 69 years until his death, just down the block from the home where he grew up, Graver said.

Graver said her father "loved living in Beaumont." He has been an integral part of the Southeast Texas arts community as both an artist and supporter of the arts for more than five decades, according to the Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Cargill initially studied pre-med at Rice University from 1946 to 1948 before changing career paths to study industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York, where he met his wife Patricia Cargill, according to Lamar University. The couple married in 1950 and returned to Beaumont in 1951, where Cargill received his first commissions for portrait busts and murals. Patricia died in 2012 at 82.

Cargill earned his Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1955 and later traveled to Europe, returning in 1962 to cast commissions in Italy, according to Lamar University. During one of those trips, he brought home a 4x4x4 foot piece of marble that would become his masterwork, Graver said.

Just two or three years ago, Cargill put the finishing touches on "Interlude," a large marble sculpture showing the figures of a man and woman that he had been working on intermittently since the early 1960s, according to Graver. The marble piece weighs "a couple tons," and Cargill considered it his "master work," she said.

Cargill's public sculptures became fixtures throughout the Beaumont area, including the bronze "Men of Vision" sculpture depicting the four Rogers Brothers, founders of Texas State Optical and local arts supporters, which sits on the grounds of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, according to Lamar University and the Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau.

His work extended beyond Southeast Texas, earning national recognition from the American Institute of Architects for his Stations of the Cross sculptures commissioned for St. Basil's at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, according to Lamar University and the Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau. His sculptures can be found in numerous locations throughout the region, including the Texas Energy Museum, Beaumont Public Library, Beaumont Civic Center, Lamar University Quad, and various churches and commercial buildings, according to the Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"Making sculpture has been my life," Cargill wrote on his website. "From my studio in southeast Texas I have been commissioned to create and install projects 20 feet tall in commercial, public, sacred and private settings."

Cargill worked in all materials, with his largest works typically in bronze and other metals, though he also worked in glass, wood, stone and ceramic, according to his website. His sculptures proved remarkably durable - when Hurricane Rita struck Beaumont in 2005, destroying homes and thousands of trees, Cargill's works, including the heroic head of Mirabeau Lamar that serves as the symbol of Lamar University, remained standing, according to his website.

According to his website, Cargill's work "often communicates warm human values with beauty and humor," though some pieces addressed more serious subjects.

Cargill's work is included in the permanent collection of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, according to Lamar University.

The sculptures of David Cargill

Here's list of some of Cargill's work

Selected Public Art

Rogers Brothers tribute, "Men of Vision", bronze, Main Street, Beaumont, Texas

Bronze head of Mirabeau Lamar, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas

Bronze animals, Dallas Zoo, Dallas, Texas

Neon installation, Edison Plaza Museum Bronze Bull, Dallas Trade Center, Dallas, Texas (Trammell Crow commission)

Bronzes, Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Texas (Trammell Crow commission)

Glass Screen, Entergy Building, Beaumont, Texas

Art Museum of Southeast Texas: "Woman," cedar wood

"Importance of Being Mary," bronze

Smaller Bronze work

Pearlstein historical marker, Beaumont, Texas

15 foot stainless steel "Winning," Civic Center, Beaumont, Texas

Kinetic bronze, "Passengers from Earth," Central Library, Beaumont, Texas

Bronze, Waldman Park, Beaumont, Texas

"Family," bronze, Port Arthur library, Port Arthur, Texas

Bronze door, Ohmstede Machine Works, Beaumont, Texas

Mississippi Club, Jackson, Mississippi

Children's Medical Center, Dallas

Oak Cliff Savings & Loan, Dallas

Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin

Churches and Schools

Bronze "Friendly Jesus," Kenilworth Church, Kenilworth, Illinois

Bronze, Kelly High School, Beaumont, Texas

Chapel of St. Basil (Phillip Johnson) - installations including bas-relief stations of the cross, bronze Mary and child

Three bronzes, Brophy College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona

12 foot bronze cross, First Methodist Church, Beaumont, Texas

8 foot by 16 foot mahogany relief, First Methodist Church, Port Neches, Texas

Bethlehem Lutheran Church - installations including 12 foot mahogany cross, altar

Hammered lead relief, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Beaumont, Texas

St. Henry's Catholic Church, Bridge City, Texas - installations including altar, stations of the cross

St. Jude's Catholic Church, Beaumont, Texas - installations including stained glass life-size stations of the cross, brass altar

Selwin School, Denton, Texas

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Beaumont sculptor David Cargill dies at 96, leaves a lasting legacy of art

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David Cargill, iconic sculptor shaping Southeast Texas art for 50 years, passed away in Beaumont at 96. His legacy spans marble, bronze, and public masterpieces.

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THE ART OF THE CHAPEL OF ST. BASIL with David Cargill

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Editor's note: The Art Museum of Southeast Texas provided source material to Resource Library for the following article or essay. If you have questions or comments regarding the source material, please contact the Art Museum of Southeast Texas directly through either this phone number or web address:
David Cargill-Father/Graver-Daughter December 11, 2004 - March 6, 2005
(above: David Gargill, Where Do Babies Come From?, 1971, Cast Bronze, 120 inches high)

T he Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will present an exhibition titled Cargill-Father/Graver-Daughter. This exhibition, on display December 11, 2004 - March 6, 2005, will showcase sculpture by well-known Beaumont artist David Cargill paired with paintings by his daughter IdaKatherine Graver, who resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (right: David Cargill, Two Brothers, Cast Bronze, n.d.)

David Cargill has been an integral part of the Southeast Texas arts community as both an artist and a supporter of the arts for well over 50 years. His sculpture has helped define the public image of Beaumont. He is a historically and regionally important artist who has graced the region with major, large-scale sculpture, including sacred and secular commissions like those located at the Beaumont Civic Center, the downtown Beaumont Public Library and at Beaumont's Saint Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church. He is best known in Southeast Texas for the imposing bust of Mirabeau B. Lamar at Lamar University in Beaumont. The bust is both a campus focal point and an iconic symbol of the university itself.

Other very important commissions include the Rogers Brothers sculpture on the grounds of AMSET and an impressive series of Stations of the Cross sculptures at the Chapel of St. Basil, University St. Thomas, Houston.

IdaKatherine Graver grew up in her parents' home surrounded by art and creativity. "I was raised in a sculptor's studio and educated in the nation's best art museums," she says. "I've had a brush or pencil in my hand since I was two years old." Graver creates work that is representational, but at the same time abstract and highly original. Her palette consists of soft, sensuous hues, and centers on the life around her, including landscapes near Santa Fe, women in her life and even common, everyday objects such as chairs. She is an alumnae of St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM.

"AMSET is quite proud to host this exhibition," says Ray Daniel, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections. "David has been a part of this museum since its inception, and he's been an integral part of the art scene here for decades." Daniel continues, "Further, a family pairing like this is something we haven't tried before. It's going to be quite interesting." (left: IdaKatherine Graver, Crocodile Tears, 2003, Mixed Media , 4 x 4 feet)

AMSET has produced a full-color catalogue to commemorate this exhibit. It is available in AMSET's gift shop .

The opening reception for Cargill-Father/Graver-Daughter will be from 6-8pm on Friday, December 10 at AMSET. The reception is free and open to the public.

Cargill-Father/Graver-Daughter is funded in part by the City of Beaumont through the Southeast Texas Arts Council, Regina Rogers - In honor of David Cargill and IdaKatherine Graver, Gloria and Charles Locke, Ann Ohmstede, Mrs. Gerry Doyle and Marsha and Lewis Hoffer. This project is supported by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

(above: IdaKatherine Graver, Woman in Woods, 2003, Mixed Media , 4 x 4 feet)

Read more articles and essays concerning this institutional source by visiting the sub-index page for the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Resource Library.

Visit the for Table of Contents Resource Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art, calendars, and much more.

Copyright 2003, 2004 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc. , an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.

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Editor's note: The Art Museum of Southeast Texas provided source material to Resource Library for the following article or essay.

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The nonagenarian sculptor, whose pieces are flecked throughout southeast Texas, unveils a career-spanning retrospective in Beaumont.

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David Cargill Public Sculptures and Art Tour

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Public Sculpture Driving Tour David Cargill has been an integral part of the Southeast Texas arts community as both an artist and a supporter of the arts for well over 50 years. His sculpture has helped define the public image of the region. Cargill, recognized nationally by the American Institute of Architects for his work in the chapel of St. Basil, Houston, is an historically and regionally important artist who has graced Southeast Texas and other parts of the country with major, large-scale sculpture, including sacred and secular commissions. Locations: Art Museum of Southeast Texas and Texas Energy Museum, Beaumont Public Library, Beaumont Civic Center, Lamar University Quad, St. Michael’s Orthodox Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, First United Methodist, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, St. Anthony Cathedral, St. Jude Thaddeaus Catholic Church, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Ohmstgede Machine Works, Entergy Building, Edison Plaza Museum. The Men of Vision sculpture, by David Cargill, sits on the grounds of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. The bronze sculpture depicts the Rogers Brothers of Beaumont, Texas who were known for their visionary community and business ways and also founded Texas State Optical (TSO).

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Dallas zoo tribute https://www.facebook.com/DallasZoo/posts/we-are-deeply-saddened-by-the-passing-of-david-cargill-earlier-this-month-a-gift/1162813112543432/

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We are deeply saddened by the passing of David Cargill earlier this month, a gifted sculptor whose artistry has touched many, including those of us here at the Dallas Zoo.

David created three...