Artist and sculptor Kitty Cantrell has had a lifelong fascination with everything wild. She has studied the behaviors of animals with an artist’s eye and imagination. Her driving passion has been to capture the essence of the animals she chooses to depict in her artwork.
It is her unique ability to capture the emotion of how we as the viewer feel about the animals she chooses to create, which has won her countless awards and critical acclaim. Her identification with the subject matter has led her to be one of the most widely collected wildlife artists working in the United States today.

As a native of Southern California, Kitty Cantrell attributes her respect for all things living to a childhood spent in the Mojave Desert. It was in this arid environment that she became acutely aware of the rhythms of nature and she constantly challenges herself to incorporate this understanding into her artwork.

Our national symbol, the eagle, represents vigilance, alertness, strength, courage and freedom. This dramatic 48-inch bronze eagle by sculptor Kitty Cantrell embodies all these qualities. Windwalker was added to the sculpture collection on April 1, 2002. Named for Cherokee medicine woman Five Feathered Windwalker, the sculpture belonged to the late Richard and Eleonore Morgner; their children gifted it to the Agency.

An example of an American success story, the Morgners emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1954 with little money and went on to establish 13 different companies. One of those companies, Superior Iron Works, a construction company, contributed to the construction of the New Headquarters Building, which now houses the statue. One of their children was also an employee of the CIA.

In 1999, Eleonore and Richard Morgner were killed when their private plane crashed. “Windwalker” was a favorite sculpture of Mr. Morgner’s. As a tribute to their parents, the Morgner children donated the sculpture to the Agency in recognition of the courageous work of those who serve the CIA, acknowledging that, through this work, the Agency helps protect citizens of the United States and the immigrants who look to this country as the land of opportunity.