Internationally renowned sculptor and Pittsburgh native Thaddeus Mosley Jr. dies at 99
Renowned Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus Mosley Jr. died on Friday at age 99, according to his family.
"Our hearts are broken to share the passing of our father, Thaddeus Mosley," said his son and Pittsburgh City Councilman Khari Mosley. "He was a dedicated family man, ubiquitous community pillar, and an inimitable creative force who embodied the hard-working ethos of his blue-collar Western Pennsylvanian roots and the innovative essence of the classic jazz music that served as his spiritual inspiration."
Prior to becoming an artist, Mosley served in World War II after enlisting in the Navy when he was 19.
Mosley was an internationally acclaimed sculptor known for his carvings made from salvaged wood. Throughout his life, after teaching himself to sculpt, he would receive several prestigious accolades.
Those included the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts' Artist of the Year in 1979; the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Artist of the Year in 1999; the Arts and Letters Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2021; and the prestigious Isamu Noguchi Award in 2022.
He was also given an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, in 2022.
Throughout the years, Mosley had his work featured in several prestigious institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many others.
However, when asked what he was most proud of in the nearly 100 years he spent on Earth, he said his six children.
He's survived by those six children: Martel, Rochelle, Lorna, Tereneh, Anire, and Khari, as well as eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many extended family members.
