Sketching horses was always Sam Litrenti's favorite pastime. Later he tried his hand at oil painting,
watercolors, and woodcarving. At the age of 15, he won a scholarship to the Chicago Art Institute. Following his tour
of duty in the U.S. Army during World War II, Litrenti attended Northwestern University where he earned a degree in advertising
and eventually opened his own ad agency in 1969.
In 1992, he and his wife, Lorraine, retired to Sun City West, Arizona. A casual visit to an
art gallery in Sedona and the bronze sculptures of cowboys on horseback fascinated him. A brief talk with the artist convinced
Sam to try sculpting.
His natural talent sprung forth and now he creates bronzed figures like those so admired. Because
of this, much of his work is devoted to creating sculptures of cowboys, Indians and horses. He has devoted many
hours studying horses in action. Horses have always been his favorite subject. He feels that a horse in motion
displays agreat deal of strength, as well as beauty and grace. Sam is of the opinion that the person who buys his work
is entitled to the best that he has to offer. Each piece is kept to a limited edition range of 6 to 35.
He prefers quality over quantity. He also strives to make each piece capture that special something that people
want and admire. Sam was also commissioned to do a three quarter life size bronze of a prospector panning for
gold that was placed in a prominent location in front of the Sun City West Public Library. He was also commissioned
to do a life size bronze for a company in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Selected by the Scottsdale Artist School as one of the "Best and Brightest of 1998", his sculpture of a
young girl sleeping on the back of a horse, entitled "Plumb Tuckered Out", was exhibited and sold. He also won a ribbon
and an award at the 1998 juried art exhibit held by the West Valley Museum of Art in Surprise, Arizona. Both exhibits
were Sam's first exposure to the general public. As a result, several pieces were sold.
