Biography
Growing up in Spokane, WA, Jones has been an avid outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast since he was a young boy. “Dad taught me how to hunt and fish and mom taught me to appreciate nature.” After attending Washington State University on a tennis scholarship and graduating, he went to Alaska and worked as a fishing guide for three summers and a welder’s helper in Prudhoe Bay for a year. It was during this period that he realized sculpting was his passion. Ott, his wife Joan of 37 years and their four children make their home in Bozeman, Montana. “I’m fortunate to call Montana home. It’s such a great place to raise a family and work as a sculptor. The abundant wildlife and wilderness provide me with endless inspiration.”
Ott Jones, a professional sculptor for 37 years, has created a diverse collection of wildlife and sporting sculpture. He is in numerous prominent private and corporate collections around the world. Ott was honored in having the late Queen Elizabeth II acquire “Birth of the Labrador”, a sculpture depicting Labrador retrievers in a dory, retrieving cod for British fishermen in the 1500’s off the Newfoundland coast. He is a member of Allied Artists of America, National Sculpture Society and Society of Animal Artists.
In 2024 Ott won the Mary Kay & Paul Jeynes Memorial Award from AAA. He was honored in winning the coveted Gold Medal of Honor in 2022 from Allied Artists for his river otter monument. In 2021, Allied Artists awarded him the Ranieri Sculpture Casting Award for his peregrine falcon chasing two teal, “Survival of the Fittest”. In 2020, he won the Gilbert and Marion Roller Award for his blue heron monument.
Ott has participated in numerous juried shows and museum exhibitions including Brinton Museum, C. M. Russell Museum, Coors Western Art Show, High Desert Museum, Mountain Oyster Club, National Cowboy & Heritage Museum, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. Over his career, He has placed dozens of life-size and monumental sculptures. Two of his most notable pieces are the fly fisherman and Labrador, “Stream Side Companions” in front of Bozeman/Yellowstone International Airport and “Jim Bridger” monument, at Bozeman’s Chamber of Commerce.
ELECTED PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Allied Artists of America
National Sculpture Society
Society of Animal Artists
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Coeur d’Alene Gallery (Coeur d’Alene, ID)
Dick Idol Gallery (Whitefish, MT)
Horizon Fine Art (Jackson, WY)
Kneeland Gallery (Ketchum, ID)
Legacy Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ)
Montana Trails Gallery (Bozeman, MT)
Paderewski Fine Art (Beaver Creek, CO)
Reinert Fine Art (Charleston, SC)
JURIED & MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
Allied Artists of America, (New York, NY)
Mountain Oyster Club Show (Tucson, AZ)
Art In West, High Desert Museum (Bend, OR)
National Sculpture Society (Brookgreen Gardens, SC)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (Birm., AL)
Nature Works (Tulsa, OK)
Brays Island Outdoor Expo (Beaufort, SC)
Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival (Thomasville, GA)
Brinton 101, Brinton Museum (Big Horn, WY)
Quinlan Visual Arts Center (Gainesville, GA)
C.M. Russell Museum (Great Falls, MT)
Rock Creek Cattle Co. Arts Fest. (Deer Lodge, MT)
Clymer Art Museum (Ellensburg, WA)
Safari Club International (Las Vegas & Reno, NV)
Coors Western Art Show (Denver, CO)
Small Works, Nat. Cowboy Museum (OKL City, OK)
Flint RiverQuarium, (Albany, GA)
Society of Animal Artists (Bennington, VT)
Indian Wells Arts Fest. (Indian Wells, CA)
Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (Charleston, SC)
International Trout Congress (Bozeman, MT)
United Kingdom Kennel Club (London, England)
Legacy Gallery Small Works (Scottsdale, AZ)
Ward Museum Of Wildfowl Art (Salisbury, MD)
Marcus Daly Hospital Found. (Hamilton, MT)
Waterfowl Festival (Easton, MD)
Miniatures by the Lake (CDA, ID)
Western Visions, NMWA (Jackson, WY)