Craigger Browne began carving stone while studying abroad at the Lacoste School of the Arts in Lacoste, France. After receiving a BFA from the University of Montevallo, he was hired to return to Lacoste as the assistant sculpture professor. While teaching and carving limestone in France, he was awarded a Guggenheim Scholarship/internship to study in Venice, Italy at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. In May of 1992, Browne moved to Carrara, Italy to work and study at Studio Nicoli, a prestigious and historic studio founded in 1863. It was there that he discovered Carrara marble working on his own work and with the artigiani, the studio’s master craftsmen, honing his craft for years. In 1995, Browne returned to the U.S. to establish a studio in Birmingham and returned periodically to Carrara to work and purchase stone over the next 15 plus years.

In 2011, while participating in Sylacauga’s Magic of Marble Festival, Browne discovered Alabama’s world class marble. He was commissioned by the city to create “Sylacauga Emerging”, an eleven foot tall sculpture for the lawn of City Hall. He was invited to be the sculptor/artist in residence in Sylacauga where he continues to work and promote the purest white marble in the world.

The Magic of Marble Festival in Sylacauga celebrated its 13th anniversary this past April. The mission of the Marble Festival is to educate the public about the magic of this beautiful marble through its artistic, commercial and industrial applications.

Browne’s work may be found in corporate, public and private collections on five of the seven continents.