His bas-relief sculptures for the FDR Memorial appear in gallery Room One - "The First Inaugural" - and gallery Room Two - "Social Programs" - depicting programs which were part of FDR's New Deal. The latter sculpture covers one wall which faces a quincunx (five columns) that bear the same image in reverse.

Robert Graham's work is an outgrowth of a long line of brilliant representative sculptors dating back to the Renaissance. When he began work on this project in 1977, he was known for his gallery work, museum shows, and innovative casting techniques. Since that time, however, he has spent much of his career in expanding his work into monumental bronze pieces that are cast by his own production team.

With the installation of the "Olympic Gateway" at the entrance to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the 1984 Olympic Games, Graham's stature as a prominent sculptor of monumental civic work was assured. He created a public monument in Detroit to Joe Louis, commissioned by Time, Inc., Sports Illustrated and has worked on the Duke Ellington Memorial in New York's Central Park.

Robert Graham was born in Mexico City in 1938 and moved to California in 1950.