# Jeff Decker
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{{short description|American sculptor}}
{{Distinguish|Jaff Decker}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jeff Decker
| image = Jeff-decker-riding-shot.jpg
| caption = Jeff Decker
| other_names =
| known_for = [Bronze sculptures](/source/Bronze_sculptures), [The Hill Climber](/source/The_Hill_Climber)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|6|14}}
| birth_place = [Torrance, California](/source/Torrance%2C_California)
| alma_mater = [Brigham Young University](/source/Brigham_Young_University)
| spouse = Kelly Lei Decker
| occupation = Sculptor
| website ={{URL|jeffdeckerstudio.com}}
}}
'''Jeff Decker''' is a sculptor and historian who is known for his [bronze sculptures](/source/bronze_sculptures), the most notable of which is titled "By the Horns" (also known as ''[The Hill Climber](/source/The_Hill_Climber)''), a 16-foot-tall, 5,000-pound bronze located on the grounds of the [Harley-Davidson Museum](/source/Harley-Davidson_Museum).[{{cite web|last=Schmid|first=John|title=Capturing the Harley Spirit|url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/29451219.html|publisher=Journal Sentinel|accessdate=March 3, 2011}}] His bronze-cast sculptures depicting the synergy of man and modern machines, particularly historic motorcycles, is known in both the motorcycling community and the world of fine art.[{{cite web|last=Morgan|first=Felicia|title=Rider's Spotlight: Jeff Decker|url=http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117&Itemid=93|publisher=Cannonball Endurance Run|accessdate=March 3, 2011}}] {{As of|2009}}, Decker was Harley-Davidson's official sculptor.[{{cite news|last=Migliore|first=Greg|title=Elvis immortalized on bronze Harley|url=http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090226/CARNEWS/902269985|newspaper=Autoweek|date=February 26, 2009|access-date=March 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013010611/http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090226/CARNEWS/902269985|archive-date=October 13, 2012|url-status=dead}}]
== Professional background ==
Decker is the son of Allen and Lana Decker. Steeped in the southern California car culture of the 1960s, Decker learned the ways of his father.[{{cite web|title=Interview: Jeff Decker|date=October 29, 2010 |url=http://www.bikeexif.com/jeff-decker|publisher=Bike Exif|accessdate=March 3, 2011}}] An intense collector, Decker's father owned one of the area's largest [flathead](/source/Flathead_engine) speed equipment collections.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}
Working full-time at a bronze casting foundry, Decker's first idea was to capture Man's quest for speed in all vehicles. His first sculpture was a 1924 Miller Indy car. Next came the Baby Bootlegger, a 1922 world record-holding speedboat.[{{cite web|title=Jeff Decker: Artist, Historian, Motorhead|url=http://www.motohistory.net/news2004/news_mar04.html|work=Ed Youngblood's Motohistory|accessdate=March 3, 2011}}]
On display at Bob Dron [Harley-Davidson](/source/Harley-Davidson) located in [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland%2C_California), Decker created a life-size bronze statue from a famous photograph of Joe Petrali showing him astride a Harley Streamliner, taken during Petrali's historic 136 mile per hour record setting run at Daytona on March 13, 1937.[{{cite journal|last=Davis|first=Miles|title=Joe Petrali: Hometown Hero|journal=Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader|date=January 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9Q8DBbYLU4C&pg=PA127|page=127|publisher=Dominion Enterprises|location=Woodridge, IL|issn=1051-8088|oclc=22125719}}] and is the only bronze sculpture artist licensed by Harley-Davidson to replicate their products. Decker also created a five-foot-tall, about 1,000-pound bronze of Elvis with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle he owned, a 1956 KHK model.