Darrell Beauchamp, Executive Director of the Museum of Western Art, does a little cleanup on the bronze before it is lifted into place on the museum grounds.
A new bronze was transported from the LD Brinkman estate to MOWA Monday moring. The bronze ‘Winning The Iron SHirt’ by Fritz White was donated to the City of Kerrville and is now on loan to the Mesuem of Western Art.
The bronze is layed on its side preparing it for loading it on a flat bed trailer.
Darrell Beauchamp, Executive Director of the Museum of Western Art, does a little cleanup on the bronze before it is lifted into place on the museum grounds.
The bronze arrives at the Mesuem of Western Art.
The bronze is layed on its side and readied for transport fron the Brinkman Estate to the Museum of Western Art.
A worker is seen cutting bolts that hold the 21 foot bornze inplace at the Brinkman Estate Monday morning.
Workers start the process of moving a bronze by Fritz White ‘ Winning the Iron Short’ to the Museum of Western Art.
A new bronze was transported from the LD Brinkman estate to MOWA Monday moring. The bronze ‘Winning The Iron SHirt’ by Fritz White was donated to the City of Kerrville and is now on loan to the Mesuem of Western Art.
Anyone traveling down Sidney Baker South on Monday around 9 a.m. may have seen a 21-foot flatbed trailer from the former L.D. Brinkman estate hauling massive bronze statues to their new home at The Museum of Western Art. They once belonged to the late oilman and rancher L.D. “Brink” Brinkman and were part of his private collection.
“I am so excited at this opportunity to honor my husband through the public display of these bronzes. While the city prepares the public places that will be in consideration for their permanent placement, The Museum of Western Art is the ideal setting to showcase these sculptures and allow us to keep the memory of my husband’s love of western heritage alive,” said Kathleen Brinkman, president of LDB Corp.
They were donated to the city of Kerrville in his honor, and the city chose to loan the sculptures to The Museum of Western Art for their display.
“The city of Kerrville is excited and grateful for the partnership with The Museum of Western Art and their willingness to temporarily house these two beautiful bronzes,” said Kerrville Mayor Judy Eychner. “We are also extremely grateful to Kathleen Brinkman for her generous gift of the bronzes to the city and the Kerrville community. It is a beautiful way to honor the memory of her husband, L.D. Brinkman.”
L.D. Brinkman was a founding sponsor of the museum, when it first opened in 1983, according to Darrell Beauchamp, executive director of The Museum of Western Art.
“We are very grateful to have the opportunity to showcase these two important works to visitors from around the world,” Beauchamp said.
Making the move required careful planning, he said.
“We had experts on hand to remove the bronzes from their location at the former Brinkman estate. Each work was transported to the museum separately and required skilled drivers who could make their way up our winding driveway, then position each bronze properly so the crane could come in,” Beauchamp said. “Watching each of those valuable bronzes be raised skyward was a bit nerve-wracking, but the final result is so worth it. We think visitors will be impressed.”
Both sculptures feature exquisite detail done by artists well respected in the genre of western art sculpture, he said.
‘Winning the Iron Shirt’
“Winning the Iron Shirt” by Fritz White is a 22-foot-by-8-foot-by-7-foot depiction of a Native American warrior with his lance raised to the sky in victory, as he stands over the figure of his slain Native American enemy. In his right hand, he holds the feathered headdress of a fallen figure wearing the Spanish chainmail armor known as the “Iron Shirt.”
The figures are based on a Pawnee named “Carrying the Shield in Front” — the victor — and a Southern Cheyenne called “Alights on the Cloud” — the defeated — reflecting a battle that took place in the Central Plains between the Texas Panhandle and Kansas in the 1800s.
Sculptor Fritz White (1930-2010) was an American Korean War veteran and sculptor of the American West whose works can be seen in western art museums across the country. White joined the Cowboy Artists of America in 1972 and went on to win seven gold medals from the association for his sculptures.
A concrete platform has been erected on the grounds of The Museum of Western Art high on the hill overlooking Kerrville. Solar lighting will illuminate it at night to provide a visual for those traveling on Bandera Highway.
“’Winning the Iron Shirt’ is a unique bronze that tells a powerful story of victory and defeat,” Beauchamp said. “It’s both a tragic and heroic tale of battle between two Native American foes. It’s an incredible work of art.”
‘Thanks for the Rain’
Cowboy artist Joe Beeler (1931-2006) sculpted “Thanks for the Rain,” a massive bronze measuring 9 feet by 10 feet by 7 feet that is now at the front entrance area of The Museum of Western Art. This one-and-one-half lifesize bronze depicts a cowboy kneeling, his head bowed, his left arm resting on his left knee and his right hand holding his cowboy hat. Behind him is his saddled horse with reins loose. Beneath the horse are prickly pear cactus and rocky protrusions.
Beeler was born in Missouri and grew up in Oklahoma. His lifelong passion to “be a cowboy and draw pictures” led to an education focused on art and, ultimately, his role as cofounder of the Cowboy Artists of America.
Beeler won numerous medals and recognitions during his lifetime including the Living Legends Award from Canada’s Cowboy Festival in Calgary.
Beauchamp said both artists, Beeler and White, are important to the museum.
“We have their hand- and footprints in our artist walk of fame at the rear of the museum. These men remain legendary in the western art world,” he said.
The Museum of Western Art is at 1550 Bandera Highway in Kerrville. For more information, call 830-896-2553 or go online to www.museumofwesternart.com.
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