Biographical Notes
Betty Branch is an artist who is constantly reinventing herself. Her media is diverse; She sculpts in wax, clay, fiber, straw and stone. Throughout her career of intensive production, she has culled visual references from ancient matriarchal civilizations to current cultural events, from Greece to the foothills of the Blue Ridge. Her work is defined by lifelong tenets: the body, rites of passage, the intersection between land and form, and the myth and form of crow and raven.
Branch earned both her BA and MA in Studio Art from Hollins University. Proficient in both painting and sculpture, she embarked on periods of independent study to expand and reinforce her knowledge of art history and art techniques, including: Greece, Italy, and the Bahamas. One such independent study earned her a Citation from Hollins University for her interdisciplinary research on the image of women in Ancient Greece. She spent a portion of many years working at Nicoli Studios in Carrara, Italy and notably, she was the only American exhibitor invited to the first Salon International de la Sculpture Contemporaine in Paris, 1990.
The first thirty years of her career, Branch focused on the female form and defined female rites of passage in both traditional and unorthodox media. In recent decades she has produced numerous public monuments and commissioned sculptures of varying subjects. Branch’s award-winning art has been widely exhibited in the US and abroad, with works from small to monumental in private, corporate, university, and museum collections. She maintains a studio and gallery in Roanoke, VA.
Branch is an associate member of the Audubon Society, American Women Artists, Allied Artists of America and the National Sculpture Society.
See and View More
Video: “Ritual Fire”
Video: “Behind the Scenes: Documenting the Work”
“Mother” Installation, NYC photos
Behind the Scenes: Studio/Foundry Views
Betty Branch with Madame Chirac
Education
2002 Fellow, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Amherst, Virginia
1987 Hollins University, Adjunct Professor Sculpture
1987 Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia • Master of Arts in Liberal Studies • In-depth study—Athens, Greece and Sitia, Crete • Monograph on the great goddess culture of Crete (Academic Citation)
1980 Apprenticeship at Miles and Generalis Sculptural Services • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1979 Hollins College, Roanoke, Virginia • Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Art (Summa cum laude)
1977 Studied with Gerogiana Mailloff, Vancouver, British Columbia • Totem culture of Pacific N.W.
1977 Independent study with Denis Knight, College of the Bahamas Design and Fabrication • Clay and fiber
1973 Virginia Western Community College, Roanoke, Virginia
1952 David Lipscomb College, Nashville, Tennessee
Awards and Recognitions
2017 1st Place • Caldwell Arts Sculpture Exhibition • Lenoir, North Carolina
2015 Award • Castlegar, B.C. Canada,
2014 3rd Place • Audobon Artists • New York, NY
2012 Peoples Choice Award • Caldwell County Arts • Lenoir, North Carolina
2011 The Perry F. Kendig Award for Outstanding Support of the Arts • The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge • Roanoke, Virginia
2011 Judges Award • Caldwell County Arts • Lenoir, North Carolina
2010 The Ann Fralin Award • Taubman Museum of Art • Roanoke, Virginia
2009 The Roanoker: Best of 2009: Gold • “Betty Branch: Artist Whose Work Takes Your Breath Away” City Magazine • Roanoke, VA
2008 Sally Fishburn Crockett Award • Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge
2007 YWCA Woman of Achievement in the Arts
2006 Bedi-Makky Foundry Prize for Macedonia • National Sculpture Society
2002 C. Percival Dietsch Prize for Small Goddess • National Sculpture Society
1998 Allied Artist Award • Board of Directors of AIA Blue Ridge
1985 Award for Dragons Teeth in traveling exhibit • Virginia Women Artists: Female Experience in Art • Armory Gallery, Virginia Tech • Blacksburg, Virginia
1983 Best in Show Award • 25th Annual Sidewalk Art Show Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts • Roanoke, VA
Solo Exhibitions
2022-2023 “Betty Branch a Retrospective” Taubman Museum • Roanoke, Virginia
2012 – 2019 Betty Branch Sculpture Studio & Gallery • Roanoke, Virginia
2011 “Jugglers, Mountain Women and Crows” Bridgewater College • Bridgewater, VA
2011 “Grace, An Exploration of Feminine Beauty” McCarthy Gallery, Washington & Lee University • Lexington, VA
2010 “Peripheral Visions” Sculpture and Installation • 1912 Gallery at Emory & Henry College • Emory, VA
2009 “Through the Crow’s Eye, A Retrospective” Wilson Museum, Hollins University • Roanoke, Virginia
1998 “Betty Branch” Nelson Street Gallery • Lexington, Virginia
1994 “Sculpture by Betty Branch” duPont Gallery • Washington and Lee University • Lexington Virginia
1989 “Works in Stone” Olin Hall • Roanoke College • Salem, Virginia
1987 Performance piece “Woman Wheel” Hollins College • Roanoke, Virginia
1986 Performance piece “Ritual Fire” Old Willis Quarry • Roanoke, Virginia
1985 “Mothers” Painter’s Gallery • Virginia Western Community College • Roanoke, Virginia
1984 Warm Springs Gallery • Warm Springs, Virginia
1982 “Betty Branch, Sculptor: An Exhibition of Portraits” Bridgewater College • Kline Campus Center • Bridgewater, Virginia
1981 “Betty Branch” Meredith Art Gallery • Virginia State University • Petersburg, Virginia
1981 “Betty Branch, Sculptor” Kent Gallery • Radford University
1985 “Mothers” Painter’s Gallery, Virginia Western Community College • Roanoke, Virginia
Radford, Virginia
1980 “Figurative Sculpture“ Cheek Gallery, Parthenon Museum • Nashville, Tennessee
1980 Ambiance Fine Art Gallery • Nashville, Tennessee
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 “Online Commemoration of September 11th” National Sculpture Society • “Loss”
2019 Peninsula Fine Arts Center • Portsmouth, VA
2019 Cato Institute • Washington, DC
2018 Allied Artists of America • New York, NY
2017 Caldwell Arts Sculpture Exhibition • Lenoir, North Carolina
2017 National Sculpture Society 84th Annual Juried Exhibition • Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
2016 National Sculpture Society 83rd Annual Juried Exhibition • Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
2015-2016 Castlegar, B.C. Canada
2014 “Reunion” Taubman Museum of Art • Roanoke, Virginia
2014 “Sculpture Walk” Eau Claire, Wisconsin
2014 “Home Sweet Home” Wilson Museum, Hollins University • Roanoke Virginia
2013 “Sculpture Walk” Sioux Falls, South Dakota
2012 Sculpture Walk; Sioux Falls, South Dakota
2011 National Sculpture Society Annual Exhibit • New York, New York
2011 River County 2011, Owensboro Museum of Fine Art • Owensboro, Kentucky
2011 Armory Gallery, Virginia Polytechnic Institute • Blacksburg, Virginia
2010 Caldwell County Arts Show • Lenoir North Carolina
2009 “Five Branches: A Virginia Family of Artists” Olin and Smoyer Galleries, Roanoke College • Salem, Virginia
2008 “75th Annual Exhibition: National Sculpture Society” Juried Exhibition, National Sculpture Society • New York, New York
2008 “Friends and Family” Eleanor D. Wilson Museum • Hollins University • Roanoke, Virginia
2007 “Tri-State Sculptors” Washington Square • Washington, D.C.
2007 “Allied Artists of America: 94th Annual Exhibition” National Arts Club • New York, New York
2007 National Sculpture Society, Juried Exhibition • New York, New York
2006 “The 33rd Annual Juried Competition” Masur Museum of Art • Monroe, Louisiana
2006 “National Sculpture Society” Juried Exhibition • Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
2006 “60th Annual Sculpture Exhibition” Pen and Brush Inc • New York, New York
2005 “The Sea” National Sculpture Society, Park Avenue Atrium • New York, New York
2004 “Three Virginia Artists” E. Taylor Greer Gallery, Ferrum College • Ferrum, Virginia
2004 “Stallions, Ponies, and Unicorns” National Sculpture Society • New York, New York
2003 “Sculpture Visions 2003” Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission • Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2002 “69th Annual Awards Exhibition” National Sculpture Society, Juried Exhibition • New York, New York
2002 “Crossing the Line” Philadelphia Sculptors and Tri-State Sculptors Guild, Moore College of Art and Design • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2000 “Artemis 2000” Living Gallery, North Cross School • Roanoke, Virginia
1990 “Women and Children: Difficult Truths” Southern Seminary College • South Carolina
1991 “Hollins College Faculty Art Exhibit” Hollins College • Roanoke, Virginia
1993 “The Box: Remembering the Gift” Térma Company • Santa Fe, New Mexico
1994 “Sculpture: Art in the Round” Stanley Library Galleries • Ferrum College Fine Arts • Ferrum, Virginia
1995 “Sally Grace Branch and Betty Branch” Studios on the Square Gallery • Roanoke, Virginia
1996 “Women in the Visual Arts” Hollins College Art Gallery, Hollins College • Roanoke, Virginia
1997 “Contemporary American Art” Art Museum of Western Virginia • Roanoke, Virginia
1998 “Garden Poem: Off the Wall” Betty Branch and Mimi Babe Harris • E. Taylor Greer Art Gallery/Stanley Library, Ferrum College • Ferrum, Virginia
1998 “Silent Victims” Women Made Gallery, Illinois State Capitol • Springfield, Illinois
1998 “Flight: Works by Leigh Ann Beavers, Betty Branch, and Liza Ryan” Hollins Art Gallery, Hollins University • Roanoke, Virginia
1987 New Art Center • Washington, D.C.
1987 “Over the Blue Ridge II.” Invitational, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts • Roanoke, Virginia
1987 “Tucker-Boatwright Exhibition” University of Richmond • Richmond, Virginia
1986 Gilpin House Gallery • Alexandria, Virginia
1986 “ArtExpo New York” Jacob K. Javits Convention Center • New York, New York
1986 Asheville Art Museum • Asheville, North Carolina
1986 “Southern Bronze” The Art Gallery, Belk Art Building, Western Carolina University • Cullowhee, North Carolina
1986 “Contemporary Modes of Expression: VA/DC Artists” Marsh Gallery, University of Richmond • Richmond, Virginia
1986 St. John’s Museum • Wilmington, North Carolina
1986 “Traveling Exhibit” Armory Gallery, Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, Virginia; Portsmouth Community Arts Center Gallery; Piedmont Art Association; University of Richmond; Randolph-Macon College; Bluefield State University; Longwood College; Danville Museum; Reston Art Center; Shenandoah College and Conservatory
1985 Virginia Women Artists: Female Experience in Art
1985 “Art Expo (NY)” Jacob Javitts Center • New York, New York
1985 16th National Juried Exhibition • Greensboro Artists’ League • Greensboro, North Carolina
1985 “Focus International: American Women in Art” United Nations World Conference on Women • Nairobi, Kenya
1985 United Nations Conference on Women • Nairobi, Kenya • American Album of Art, “Dragons Teeth”
1985 “Contemporary Sculpture by Virginia Artists” Portsmouth Museum Fine Arts Gallery, Courthouse • Portsmouth, Virginia
1984 Group Exhibit • Center Art Gallery • Maui, Hawaii
1984 “Tri-State Sculptor’s Guild” Gaston County Museum of Art and History • Dallas, North Carolina
1984 Mint Museum, Queens College • Charlotte, North Carolina
1983 Group Exhibit Center Art Gallery • Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
1983 “Tri-State Sculptors Guild” Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art • Greensboro, North Carolina
1982 “Tri-State Sculptor’s Guild Annual Members Exhibition” Gray Art Gallery, East Carolina University Museum of Art • Greenville, North Carolina
1982 “Together: Works by Betty and Patrick Branch” Young Gallery, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts • Roanoke, Virginia
1981 “The Real and the Surreal” Durham Arts Council Building • Durham, North Carolina
1980 “Kindred Works” Another Gallery • Roanoke, Virginia
Selected Collections, Commissions and Public Works
Jefferson Center • Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke College • Salem, Virginia
St. Francis Service Dogs • Roanoke Virginia
Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, Hollins University • Roanoke, Virginia
Radford University Art Museum • Radford, Virginia
City of Radford, Virginia
David Lipscomb University • Nashville, Tennessee
Brookgreen Gardens • Pawley’s Island, North Carolina
Pfeiffer College • Meisenheimer, South Carolina
Chapel Hill Public Library • Chapel Hill, North Carolina
SunTrust Bank • Roanoke, Virginia
American Infrastructure • Worcester, Pennsylvania
American Red Cross, Roanoke Headquarters • Roanoke, Virginia
C&P Central Offices • Arlington, Virginia
Alabama Institute of the Deaf and the Blind • Talladega, Alabama
Anne Masters Memorial Park • Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke College • Athletic Walk of Fame
Montgomery County Elementary School • Elliston, Virginia
Washington & Lee University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Hollins University
Hollywood Cemetery • Richmond, Virginia
South County Library • Roanoke, Virginia
Taubman Museum of Art • Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke Public Library • Roanoke, Virginia
City of Roanoke, Virginia
Jefferson Center • Roanoke, Virginia
North Cross School • Roanoke, Virginia
Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge • Roanoke, Virginia
Selected Bibliography
“Artists and Writers from the Blue Ridge Mountains and Beyond” – Vol XXIV Artemis Journal (2018)
“Betty Branch Studio & Gallery Open House History”, Visions Art Guide, City Magazine (Dec 2017)
“Artists and Writers from the Blue Ridge Mountains and Beyond” – Vol XXIII, Artemis Journal (May 2016) –
Featured Artist in Publication
Brown, Dan “Betty Branch Reaching Goals” The Roanoker Magazine (Mar/Apr 2016)
Doughty, Doug “Pirro Immortalized at Roanoke College” The Roanoke Times (October 7, 2012)
“Celebrating Women of the Blue Ridge” City Magazine, cover (October, 2011)
“Branch Explains Peripheral Vision, Installation at Emory & Henry” A! Magazine for the Arts (August, 2010)
“New Spin on Landscaping” Bristol Herald Courier (September 2, 2010)
McLeod, Deborah “Heart of Stone Wings of Bronze, The Paradoxical Work of Betty Branch” Charlottesville, VA Essay, Hollins University, Wilson Museum Publication (2009)
Allen, Mike “Her Truth Revealed” The Roanoke Times (September 2009)
Kittredge, Kevin “Taubman Museum of Art and Downtown Roanoke” Roanoke Times (October 30, 2008)
Parsons, Laura “Lyricism in Stone: Sculptor Betty Branch Shapes the Universal Frame” Virginia Living (2007): pg 31
Costanza, Nina “Simplicity of Form: A Conversation Between Sculptor and Material” Sculpture Review (2005)
“Betty Branch Sculpture Studio and Gallery” The Roanoke Times (December 1, 2005)
Sculpture Review: A Publication of the National Sculpture Society LIV.3 (2005): pg 34-35
Lugar, Norma “The Good, the Bright, and the Beautiful” The Roanoker XXIX 3/4 (March/April 2002)
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review, pg 4 (2001)
Kennedy, Joe “A Memorial that Speaks to Us All” The Roanoke Times (2001)
Cridlin, Jay • “Memorial” The Roanoke Times (2000)
Kittredge, Kevin • “Getting Their Due” The Roanoke Times (May 18, 2000)
“Once Upon a Time” • The Roanoke Times (December 5, 1997)
Macy, Beth • “Sex, Death, and Whimsy in the Garden” The Roanoke Times (July 24, 1997)
Martin, Kimberly • “Work of Art” (November 17, 1994)
Williams, Arthur • Sculpture: Technique, Form, Content (1994)
Salmon, Robin Brookgreen Garden Sculpture II (1993)
Adkins, Sharon “Sculpture Dedicated in Memory of Long-Time Radford Supporter” Campus Currents, pg 4 (November 1991)
Roanoke Times & World-News (July 26, 1987)
Woman of Power Magazine: A Magazine of Feminism, Spirituality, and Politics, pg 6 (1987)
“Women in the News” Women Artists News 11.1 (1986): 42
DeBell, Jeff “Art Goes up in Flames” Roanoke Times & World-News (October 29, 1986)
Godfrey, Robert “Display is a Retrospective of Southern Bronze Sculpture” Asheville Citizen –Times 7 (Sept. 1986) sec, L
“Pursuing Realism” International Sculpture Magazine (March/April 1986)
“Weekender Guide” New York Times (April 4, 1986)
“Radford Bust” The News Journal (July 18, 1986) 102YEAR. No.142
Merritt, Robert “The Two Worlds of Women’s Art: Making Art or Making a Statement” Richmond Times-Dispatch (October 13, 1985)
Weinstein, Ann “Symbols Abound in Burlap Mothers” Roanoke Times & World-News (January 27, 1985)
“Betty Branch” Brookgreen Journal XV.3 (1985)
Hieronymus, Clara “Sculptor’s Work to be Dedicated” The Tennessean (October 10, 1985)
“Betty Branch” Virginia Women Artists: Female Experience in Art (1985)
Weinstein, Ann “One About Women, One by Women” Roanoke Times & World-News (May 19, 1985)
“Betty Branch: Sculptor” Center Art Gallery Magazine: Art Consultants to the World (1984)
“25th Annual Sidewalk Art Show.” In Focus: The Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts (September 1983)
Kennedy, Joe “With 10 You Get Diversity” Roanoke Times & World-News (March 23, 1983)
Angell, Janis “Forms Fascinate Roanoke Sculptor” The News Journal (November 1, 1981)
“Art Guild Exhibits Works” The Chapel Hill Newspaper (March 10, 1981)
“Art: Light, Space, and Freedom” The Roanoker Magazine (November 1980)
Cubby, James “Sculptor Betty Branch” Artists Interviews:16+ (1980)
DeBell, Jeff “Sculptor Finds Isolation in Downtown Roanoke” Roanoke Times & World-News (1980)
“DLC Alum ‘Captures’ Collins” The Tennessean (September 28, 1980)
Weinstein, Ann “Over the Blue Ridge II Is a Varied Tribute to Artists of Western Virginia (1980)
Photographers
Bonny Branch
Richard Boyd
Amy Pearman
Richard Braaten
Michael Branch
Polly Branch
Saba
Ellen Martin
Web Master
Amy Garland