Description
Peter Madsen, an a artist from Simi Valley, CA - creates "Long Arm of The Law"<br>Bronze Sculpture 17.5" tall x 19" wide. No damage or wear. It is dated 1991 and<br>is 13/24, weighs 30 pounds. Number 18/24 sold for 5K on ebay on May 3, 2015, so<br>the price is reasonable and realistic. It will be packed and shipped with<br>extreme care.<br><br>Article is from July 11, 1997 Byline: Patricia Hesselbach Daily News Staff<br>Writer`<br><br>``Good Medicine'' sits on top of the table where Peter Madsen sketches in<br>charcoal in his Simi Valley home. The small sculpture, one of many created by<br>Madsen at the height of a prolific artistic career, reminds him of his inner<br>strength and gives him courage to begin a new life. Known for his tightly<br>detailed bronzes depicting the American Indian and the cowboy, Madsen had<br>enjoyed measurable success in his field. An established and recognized artist<br>since 1986, he had received numerous awards. The Westinghouse Corp., the New<br>York Stock Exchange, Robert Duvall and Iron Eyes Cody purchased his work. The<br>Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage put a collection of his bronzes on<br>permanent display. Madsen had nowhere to go but into the ranks of renowned<br>American artists. Then one day in May 1993, an accident completely altered the<br>life Madsen had so meticulously crafted. While enjoying his other great passion,<br>participating in a Western riding competition, the artist was thrown from his<br>horse. He sustained severe head trauma and brain damage. He fell into a deep,<br>three-month coma. Madsen awoke to begin a journey on a new trail, teaching his<br>body to move again. Modest movement in his left leg signaled the onset of his<br>recovery. The artist also uttered his first words since the accident. During a<br>nine-month hospital stay, followed by seven months in a transitional home<br>setting, Madsen started his remarkable re-education process. ``I'm being born<br>again,'' Madsen said, laughing as he recalled his first tremulous attempts to<br>write his ABCs. The sculptor admired for intricate human anatomical application<br>in his bronze figures had to relearn his own body parts. ``When he first began<br>to draw figures, he would leave off a right arm,'' said his wife, Vicki. She<br>said his drawings reflected his reality. He had to become reacquainted with his<br>right side before he could draw a right side. ``The first sign of artwork came<br>in 1996,'' said Vicki Madsen. For months, she had attempted to coax the artist<br>back to work. Each time she presented him with clay, he responded, ``I can't do<br>this right now.'' Then, one September day, a collection of artist friends paid<br>Madsen a visit. Talking about sculpting stirred something inside him. Someone<br>presented Madsen with a small piece of clay. He squeezed it and responded with a<br>huge smile. There is an ironic twist to the Peter Madsen story. Prior to his<br>injury, the artist had been sculpting the figure of a cowboy being thrown from<br>his horse. Four years later, Madsen has returned to work on the piece by way of<br>surrogate sculptor, Jean Cherie. ``He has the eyes and the vision. Jean Cherie<br>is his hands,'' said Vicki. ``Prophesy Fulfilled,'' like the emerging artist, is<br>a work in progress. Once solely dedicated to his realistic bronze work, Madsen<br>now finds creative expression in a more free-form bas-relief style of sculpture,<br>charcoal sketches and computer graphics. His computer generated designs will<br>soon grace greeting cards. Close friend and personal attendant, Patrick Grant,<br>saw the work turned out by Madsen and suggested ``Greetings from Eagle Vision.''<br>Postcards featuring photos of Madsen's bronzes will complement the collection.<br>Seldom is heard a discouraging word from this cowboy artist who pledges to make<br>his own way in life. Back in the saddle again, he is rebuilding weak muscles<br>through a structured therapeutic horseback riding program. When asked about his<br>attitude toward life since the accident, Madsen exuberantly replied, ``Go for<br>it!'' When asked what his former attitude toward life was, he again replied,<br>``Go for it
