Nina Akamu (born 1955) is a Japanese-American artist known for her sculpture. She is presently living in Rhinebeck, New York. Early years and education Nina Akamu was born in 1955 in Midwest City, Oklahoma. Her father was a career Air Force serviceman so she experienced a peripatetic lifestyle living in Hawaii and East Asia. At the age of 10 her family moved to Japan, where her passion for horseback riding was instilled (which would eventually lead to a passion for sculpting horses). In 1969 her family was transferred back to the United States, moving to Dover, Delaware, where Akamu graduated high school. She studied with American painter and anatomist, Joseph Sheppard. She found her passion for sculpture in the final year of her education and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1977. Career Akamu moved to Florence, Italy in 1979 and eventually married Joseph Sheppard. The move to Italy was life changing. She began sculpting full-time, becoming a member of the National Sculpture Society in 1981. Moving to Pietrasanta, Italy in 1984, Akamu proceeded to expand on her skills and catalog of sculpture work. She lived in Italy for 12 years. She has been awarded numerous national awards for her sculptures. The cranes and memorial she created were recognized with the Henry Hering Award from the National Sculpture Society in 2002. Leonardo's Horse Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, Inc. (LDVHI) contracted Tallix Art Foundry in 1997 to cast a plaster horse created by retired airline pilot and founder Charles C Dent. As the sculpture was left incomplete at the time of his death and contained anatomical problems, Fred Meijer (patron of the bronze copy the American horse) suggested bringing Nina Akamu on board to improve upon the Dent-Herrick horse. She moved to Beacon, New York to work on a full-scale sculpture of Leonardo's horse. After several months, Nina Akamu determined that the original model could not be salvaged and concluded that a completely new sculpture needed to be executed. She created an entirely new master model which was then enlarged to 24' tall. The colossal bronze horse was completed and dedicated in Milan, Italy and the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September and October 1999. Leonardo had made numerous small sketches of horses to help illustrate his notes about the complex procedures for molding and