Robert Graham (1938-2008) was born in Mexico City before moving with his family to California when he was twelve years old in 1950. Graham trained in sculpting, first at the San Jose State University, then the San Francisco Art Institute before engaging in a series of successful one-man exhibitions at galleries in and around San Francisco, New York and London a few short years after graduating. The artist is most famously known for his large-scale bronze figures, particularly the commission for the ceremonial entrance to the Los Angeles Coliseum for the 1984 Olympics and the massive bronze doors for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown Los Angeles.