"Okie Cowboy" ~ Pawhuska, OK - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

County of Statue: Osage County
Location of Statue: Main St. (US-60), Louise Snyder Park, next to city hall, Pawhuska
Text of Plaque:

"Okie Cowboy"

I spent much of my boyhood with a cowboy,
the genuine article. This bronze sculpture
reminds me of him, a man who had time for
a boy.

By Pawhuska Sculptor
John D. Free

Gift of Strat and Bobbie Tolson,
Lynn (Tolson) Fuente and Lance Tolson
In Memory of - Ralph and Lee Tolson

[A small bio of the artist:
Born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, he became a recognized western sculptor and animal painter and from 1972 to 1975, was an elected member of the Cowboy Artists of America.

He was raised on his grandfather's ranch near McAlester, Oklahoma and learned early the life of a cowboy, which he drew and sketched from the time he was young. His heritage is part Osage and Cherokee as well as Caucasian. In college he studied veterinary science and animal husbandry and took a few art courses but was discouraged by the emphasis on abstraction.

He determined to become an artist showing the life of a cowboy and spent four years in private study in Taos, New Mexico. In 1971, he was given a one-man show at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. He later opened his own foundry in Pawhuska where he lived most of his life.

Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: "Okie Cowboy" Figure Type: Combination of two figure types Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: John D. Free Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: 2000 Materials used: Bronze Location: Louis Snyder Park

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/23/2010 beagle39z visited it