2023 North Carolina Awards: Patrick Dougherty

The internationally recognized sculptor Patrick Dougherty grew up in Southern Pines, North Carolina. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa, he returned to UNC to study art history and sculpture. Combining his carpentry skills with his love of nature, Dougherty experimented with primitive building techniques using tree saplings as construction material. In 1982 his first work, "Maple Body Wrap," was included in the North Carolina Biennial Artists’ Exhibition, sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of Art. His 2009 sculpture, “Out of the Box,” is now on permanent display at the museum. Dougherty has received numerous awards, including the 2011 Factor Prize for Southern Art, North Carolina Artist Fellowship Award, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Henry Moore Foundation Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.