Statues - Hither & Thither

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Dallas
Texas

Pioneer Plaza

Trail Drive: An American Monument to the West

Robert Summers
1992-97

Description

Sculpture group of a herd of c. 50 longhorn steers with three horse riding cowboys:

Dallas - Trail Drive: An American Monument to the West
Trail boss
Black cutter
Vaquero

The sculpture is placed in a native landscaping with a flowing stream and waterfall.

Dallas - Trail Drive: An American Monument to the West

Inscription(s)

The inscriptions on a few stones are hardly readable.

Annotation

The largest arrangement of bronze statues in North America. The group contains three cowboys on horseback and 40+ Longhorn steers, each piece being 130% life size. There were 70 steer intended and only 40 actually installed (we counted c. 50 longhorns).

The sculpture and the plaza itself were the idea of real estate developer Trammell Crow, who wanted an iconic "Western" sculpture in the city of Dallas and assembled a group to donate the sculptures. The $9 million project was begun in 1992 on 4.2 acres (17,000 m²) of land donated by the City of Dallas; $4.8 million of the cost came from private funds raised from individuals and local businesses. Local artists sued to stop the project and claimed that it was historically inaccurate for the city, but the project opened on time in 1994 and terminated in 1997.

The large sculpture commemorates nineteenth century cattle drives that took place along the Shawnee Trail, the earliest and easternmost route by which Texas longhorn cattle were taken to northern railheads. The trail passed through Austin, Waco, and Dallas until the Chisolm Trail siphoned off most of the traffic in 1867.

Dallas - Trail Drive: An American Monument to the West

Sculptor

Robert T. Summers II (1940), sculptor of Glen Rose, Texas (Wikipedia – Website).

Sources & Information

Wikipedia, Pioneer Plaza.
Texas Trees Foundation, Pioneer Plaza.
Durango Texas, Pioneer Plaza Cattle Drive.

Locatie (N 32°46'34" - W 96°48'5") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: ustx19; Photograph: 7 October 2010
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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