Mustangs of Las Colinas

Famed Mustangs of Las Colinas Sculptor, Robert Glen, Dies at 83

The City of Irving and the Mustangs of Las Colinas Museum and Visitor Center mourns the passing of world-renowned sculptor, Robert Glen, who passed away at age 83 following a short illness in Cork, Republic of Ireland on Saturday, October 28, 2023. A dear friend to the City of Irving and maker of the City’s most recognizable landmark, the Mustangs of Las Colinas, Robert was an incredibly gifted artist and champion of African wildlife conservation.

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The Mustangs of Las Colinas

… is a breathtakingly realistic bronze sculpture of nine wild mustangs galloping across a stream. Tourists from around the world come to view the impressive, larger-than-life depiction that serves as the centerpiece of Williams Square, a stark, pink granite plaza in the Las Colinas Urban Center.


This is a must-see for visitors and residents alike.

History

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dallas businessman Ben H. Carpenter undertook the task of converting his family ranch into a world-class residential and business development called “Las Colinas.”


To reflect the state’s natural, untamed past, Carpenter commissioned a larger-than-life sculpture of a group of wild mustangs running across a stream. He planned to display the work in the center of a large, pink-granite plaza, where it would serve as the focal point of the new development.


In 1976, Carpenter approached African wildlife artist Robert Glen to bring his vision to reality. Glen spent a year researching and studying the history of the mustangs to better understand his subject. He discovered that mustangs in the United States today showed elements of crossbreeding, but in southern Spain he found a line of horse with the same pure bloodlines as the horses that the Spanish brought to America centuries ago. He used these horses as the models for his sculpture.


Working from his studio in Nairobi, Kenya, Glen made small scale models of mustangs in various poses to help him work out the design of the sculpture. He then made half life-sized models of the horses. For the next step in the process, Glen made fiberglass molds of these models and shipped them to a foundry in England.


The foundry used the molds for scaling and measurement in creating 1½ times life-size foam models. The artist then added layers of plasticine to the surface of the foam models to sculpt the fine details of the mustangs’ bodies. He coated the soft plasticine with layers of resin to harden it so it could withstand the rigors of the mold-making process.


After an elaborate course of creating positive and negative molds, the foundry completed the bronze casting in November 1981. Visit the Mustang Museum for a detailed explanation of the complex method of crafting the figures.


The mustangs were shipped by air from England to Irving, Texas, and after the intricate procedure of mounting the figures, the Mustangs of Las Colinas sculpture was dedicated on Sept. 25, 1984.

One of the fiberglass intermediate-sized maquettes that was shipped from Nairobi to the foundry in Basingstoke, England.

General Information

Admission is always free

The Mustangs sculpture is available for viewing at any time.

The Mustang Museum and Visitors Center is open

Wednesday - Friday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

***SPECIAL HOURS: The Mustang Museum and Visitors Center will open Friday, November 3, 2023 at 2 p.m.***

For information on group tours:

Please call 972-869-9047 or 972-721-3700 for more information or email info@irvingarchivesandmuseum.com

The Mustangs of Las Colinas sculpture is located at Williams Square, 5221 N. O'Conner Blvd.


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