You can see Adickes’ massive monuments of Texas heroes Sam Houston along I-45 and Stephen F. Austin along Highway 288.
HOUSTON — The iconic Houston artist who created towering sculptures admired by millions along I-45 and Highway 288 has died.
David Adickes was 98 years old.
Adickes is perhaps best known for the 67-foot-tall statue of Sam Houston on I-45 in his native Huntsville.
“His towering sculpture, ‘A Tribute to Courage,’ honoring Sam Houston, has become a lasting symbol of our community and a source of pride for all who call Huntsville home,” the City of Huntsville shared on Facebook. “We are grateful for his legacy, his vision, and his enduring contribution to the identity of our city.”
An even taller statue of Houston’s friend, Stephen F. Austin, overlooks Highway 288 from a park in Angleton. The 76-foot-tall statue was damaged by Hurricane Beryl but is about to be repaired, according to Brazoria County officials.
The Texas heroes also sit beside President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln, dubbed “Mount Rush Hour,” alongside I-45 near I-10, north of downtown Houston. Officially called American Statesmanship Park, the four giant busts are each 18 feet tall and weigh a whopping two tons.
“David Adickes made Houston feel bigger—literally and culturally,” said Alton DuLaney, chief curator of cultural affairs for the City of Houston. “His work is more than monumental. It’s connective. You see it on the side of the freeway or in an airport terminal, and it instantly grounds you in place, in story, and in scale. His legacy is cemented—quite literally—into the city’s identity.”
You can see a giant bust of President John F. Kennedy near Bush Intercontinental Airport in north Houston. The statue is a part of a project the East Aldine community calls “JFK on JFK.” You can find it at the intersection of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Aldine Bender Road.
The airport is home to Adickes’ sculpture of President George H.W. Bush called “Winds of Change” and the iconic We Heart Houston sign, a rare colorful departure from his typical all-white style.
Adickes also sculpted statues of The Beatles, which were available for sale a few years ago for $350,000 each. At that time, the Fab Four were at an Eado brewery.
“Virtuoso,” a string trio in downtown Houston, was his first giant sculpture.
Adickes traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2004 to help create 43 busts of American presidents. They were displayed at Presidents Park until it went bankrupt in 2010. One of the men hired to demolish the busts elected to move them to private property instead.
In 1949, Adickes studied in France for two years before returning to Texas to teach art at the University of Texas in Austin for two decades. While focusing primarily on painting in his early career, Adickes created his first monumental statue, Virtuoso, in 1983.