Old wooden oxen yokes that Quinn found in Spain, from which he later transformed into sculpture. Right: Quinn working on a sculpture in Italy, c.1977.

Awards and six nominations, international acclaim and respect of his peers and the public, Quinn will always be remembered as the consummate actor.

Although he had painted and sculpted since the age of six, it was not until the 80’s that Quinn discovered he could have another career as an artist.

He had always sculpted small pieces of stone and wood he found while he was working on location in the deserts of North Africa and in the Middle East.  In the 80’s he began to enlarge these “maquettes” into full-sized sculptures with the intention of decorating his home.  To his surprise, people started asking him where they could buy the artwork.  He was given a one-man exhibition at a gallery in Honolulu, Hawaii and every piece in the show was sold.

He continued making movies and in his free time would forage among the dunes gathering and saving stones, pieces of rock and scraps of wood.  During his time off and between scenes, he would transform the objects – which most people would consider just rocks and stones, into works of art.  In everything he saw he found beauty