Mustangs at Las Colinas
Encyclopedia
Mustangs at Las Colinas is a bronze sculpture
by Robert Glen, that decorates Williams Square in Las Colinas
in Irving, Texas
. It is said to be the largest equestrian sculpture in the world.
The sculpture
commemorates the wild mustangs
that were historically important inhabitants of much of Texas
. It portrays a group at 1.5 times life size, running through a watercourse, with fountains giving the effect of water splashed by the animals' hooves. The horses are intended to represent the drive, initiative and unfettered lifestyle that were fundamental to the state in its pioneer days.
The work was commissioned in 1976 and installed in 1984. SWA Group's design created a shallow watercourse extending 400 feet (130 m) from northeast to southwest across Williams Square, a gently sloping granite
-paved open space about 300 feet (110 m) square. The plaza setting for the sculpture won a National Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The buildings around the square rise 358 feet (26 floors) on the north and 217 feet (14 floors) on the east and west sides, with the south side open to O'Connor Boulevard. The sculpture is substantial, but the scale of the surrounding structures keeps it from dominating the space.
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
by Robert Glen, that decorates Williams Square in Las Colinas
Las Colinas
Las Colinas is an upscale, developed area in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.Due to its central location between Dallas and Fort Worth and its proximity to DFW Airport, Las Colinas has been a viable place in the Metroplex for corporate and business relocation.As a planned community, it has many...
in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
. It is said to be the largest equestrian sculpture in the world.
The sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
commemorates the wild mustangs
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
that were historically important inhabitants of much of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It portrays a group at 1.5 times life size, running through a watercourse, with fountains giving the effect of water splashed by the animals' hooves. The horses are intended to represent the drive, initiative and unfettered lifestyle that were fundamental to the state in its pioneer days.
The work was commissioned in 1976 and installed in 1984. SWA Group's design created a shallow watercourse extending 400 feet (130 m) from northeast to southwest across Williams Square, a gently sloping granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
-paved open space about 300 feet (110 m) square. The plaza setting for the sculpture won a National Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The buildings around the square rise 358 feet (26 floors) on the north and 217 feet (14 floors) on the east and west sides, with the south side open to O'Connor Boulevard. The sculpture is substantial, but the scale of the surrounding structures keeps it from dominating the space.