Summers' studio website,[3] states that Summers has had "no formal art training, save a short course in mixing colors at age 15.[4] He began to explore art as a profession in 1964. His paintings include works in various mediums including; egg and acrylic tempera, oil, dry-brush watercolor, pastel, and pencil. His sculptures have included wax and clay, and currently divides his time between painting and sculpting. He describes his flat work as "painterly[5]
Summers resides in his boyhood home of Glen Rose, Texas with his wife Boo, two of their three sons work with him. Among his associations, Robert serves as Associate Director of the Creation Evidence Museum[6] and has traveled to Turkey and New Guinea on archaeological expeditions in that capacity.[7] Summers also plays bagpipes, practices falconry, sings Contemporary Christian music, and has played lead roles in several professional productions. Much of his Western art demonstrates his love of wildlife and the cowboy spirit of the small Texas town.
Main entrance to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas. The statue is of Major B. George Erath, Texas Ranger and surveyor of the Waco townsite.
Bronze figures of cattle and cowboys, Pioneer Plaza, Dallas, TX
Commissioned to sculpt the nine-foot-tall statue of John Wayne for the John Wayne Airport in Orange County California[8] in October 1980. During the project Summers worked closely with the Wayne family, after which Patrick Wayne commented, "this is the first time I have seen my father since he died".
In May 1985, the 69th Texas Legislature passed House Bill #33 approving the placement of a monumental bronze by Robert Summers on the Capitol Grounds in Austin (this being the first sculpture approved for placement on the grounds for nearly 100 years). At present the project is still under consideration and work has not begun.
In 1987, Summers completed a three-quarter life-size version of "Texas Legacy" (the above-mentioned monument). The sculpture measures 20'x12'x7' and depicts two cowboys on horseback leading seven Longhorn cattle over a rail-road crossing and is on display at the main entrance of the Astro Hall at the Astrodomain in Houston, Texas.
In 1990, commissioned by the United States Navy Memorial Foundation to sculpt three large bas-relief bronzes showing various historical events and duties of the United States Navy and Coast Guard. The bas-relieves are part of the United States Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.
In February 1992 work was completed on a nine-foot statue of golf legend Byron Nelson. Commissioned by the U.S.A.A., the bronze is prominently located near the first tee at the TPC course at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.
In November 1992 Summers began work on the largest arrangement of bronze statues in North America. A brain-child of real-estate magnate Trammell Crow and commissioned by Dallas Trees and Parks Foundation, the project contains three cowboys on horseback and 40+ Longhorn steers in Pioneer Plaza, each piece being 130% life size. 30 additional steers will eventually be installed. The bronze trail drive covers 4 acres (16,000m2) in downtown Dallas adjacent to the Dallas Convention Center. This project was a break-through in that the artist designed both the sculptures as well as the landscaping. It is internationally known and the most photographed landmark in Dallas.
In 1996 Summers finished three 130% life-size monuments of three prominent Dallas citizens including; Trammell Crow, on display at the Anatole Hotel, and Tom Hughes, former Director of the Dallas Summer Musicals, on display in at the Music Hall at Fair Park, in Dallas, Texas.
He was commissioned by [Newmark Publishing] in Louisville, Kentucky to complete a series of Civil War paintings covering the "Peninsula Campaign".
In early 1999, Summers was commissioned to sculpt a 150% life-size monumental portrait of American cattleman John Chisum by the John Chisum Memorial Foundation in Roswell, New Mexico. The monument contains a rider on horseback and one Longhorn steer. It was installed adjacent to the Chaves County Court House in Roswell on March 24, 2001.
Summer's sculpture of Charles & Juana Cavasos Barnard in Glen Rose
After completion of the John Chisum sculpture for Roswell, the neighboring city of Artesia asked Summers to sculpt a twice life sized sculpture of John Chisum's niece, Sally Chisum. Dedicated on July 26, 2001, the 11-foot-tall (3.4m) sculpture of Sally stands as she reads to two children, as an addition to Artesia's Main Street Project.
Soon after the installment of “Sally”, Artesia again called upon Summers to represent Mary and Martin Yates, founders of Yates Petroleum. This 125% monument is currently installed and awaits the arrival (completion) of their partner “Van Welch” also in 125% scale, which was subsequently commissioned to be an addition to the composition.[citation needed]
In 2007, Summers completed a bronze statue titled "Barnard's of the Brazos - The First Family of Glen Rose",[9] depicting Charles and Juana Cavasos Barnard, founding patriarchs of Glen Rose, TX. It is displayed in front of the Sommervell County court house in Glen Rose.[10]
In 2008, Summers began a multi-sculpture project called "Branding the Brazos." The sculptures include longhorn cattle, a cowboy (added in 2013), and a Vaquero (added in 2014) and will eventually include a black drover as well. It is displayed at Indian Springs Park, in Waco, Texas in front of the Waco Suspension Bridge, which was a key spot for cattle drivers to cross the Brazos River on their way up the Chisholm Trail.[11][12]
Somervell County is a county on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,205. Its county seat is Glen Rose. The county is named for Alexander Somervell, secretary of war for the Republic of Texas.
Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2010 population of 124,805, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the state. In 2020 the population for the city was 138,486. The Waco metropolitan statistical area consists of McLennan and Falls counties, which had a 2010 population of 234,906. Falls County was added to the Waco MSA in 2013. The 2021 U.S. census population estimate for the Waco metropolitan area was 280,428.
Glen Rose is a city in and the county seat of Somervell County, Texas, United States. As of the 2012 census estimate, the city population was 2,502.
Charles Marion Russell, also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an American artist of the American Old West. He created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Native Americans, and landscapes set in the western United States and in Alberta, Canada, in addition to bronze sculptures. He is known as "the cowboy artist" and was also a storyteller and author. He became an advocate for Native Americans in the west, supporting the bid by landless Chippewa to have a reservation established for them in Montana. In 1916, Congress passed legislation to create the Rocky Boy Reservation.
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee merchant. They collected and drove numerous cattle along the trail to Kansas, where they could be shipped east to achieve higher prices. The southern terminus was Red River Station, a trading post near the Red River along the northern border of Texas. The northern terminus was a trading post near Kansas City, Kansas. Chisholm owned both of these posts. In the years of the cattle drives, cowboys would drive large herds from ranches across Texas to the Red River Station and then north to Kansas City.
Glenna Maxey Goodacre was an American sculptor, best known for having designed the obverse of the Sacagawea dollar that entered circulation in the US in 2000, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Pompeo Luigi Coppini was an Italian born sculptor who emigrated to the United States. Although his works can be found in Italy, Mexico and a number of U.S. states, the majority of his work can be found in Texas. He is particularly famous for the Alamo Plaza work Spirit of Sacrifice a.k.a. The Alamo Cenotaph, as well as numerous statues honoring Texan figures.
John Simpson Chisum was a wealthy cattle baron in the American West in the mid-to-late 19th century. He was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, and moved with his family to the Republic of Texas in 1837, later finding work as a building contractor. He also served as county clerk in Lamar County. He was of Scottish, English, and Welsh descent.
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction in 1951, Texas became the first U.S. state to have a sports hall of fame.
Pioneer Plaza is a large public park located in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It contains a large sculpture and is a heavily visited tourist site. Adjacent to the plaza is the Pioneer Park Cemetery which features the Confederate War Memorial. Together, it is the largest public open space in the Dallas central business district.
Zenos Frudakis, known as Frudakis, is an American sculptor whose diverse body of work includes monuments, memorials, portrait busts and statues of living and historic individuals, military subjects, sports figures and animal sculpture. Over the past four decades he has sculpted monumental works and over 100 figurative sculptures included within public and private collections throughout the United States and internationally. Frudakis currently lives and works near Philadelphia, and is best known for his sculpture Freedom, which shows a series of figures breaking free from a wall and is installed in downtown Philadelphia. Other notable works are at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, the National Academy of Design, and the Lotos Club of New York City, the Imperial War Museum in England, the Utsukushi ga-hara Open Air Museum in Japan, and the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
Riding into the Sunset is a bronze sculpture by Electra Waggoner Biggs, depicting Will Rogers on his horse, Soapsuds. There are four castings, located in Fort Worth, Texas, Claremore, Oklahoma, Lubbock, Texas, and Dallas, Texas.
Francis Asbury, also known as the Francis Asbury Memorial, is a public equestrian statue, by American artist Augustus Lukeman, located at 16th Street and Mt. Pleasant Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
Scott Myers is an American painter and sculptor who lives and works in Texas. He graduated Texas A&M University in 1984 with a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He studied sculpture throughout Italy focusing on Florence, Venice and Rome. Sculpting in Tuscany, he cast his work in bronze at the prestigious Fonderia d'Arte Massimo Del Chiaro in Pietrasanta. In 1994, Myers became an elected member of the National Sculpture Society. On February 12, 2011, Myers was featured in the popular television show Texas Country Reporter. Myers was inducted in the inaugural class of the Haltom City High School Hall of Fame on March 10, 2011.
Jerry McKenna is an American sculptor, notable for his bronze sculptures of military leaders, religious figures and sports stars. www.jerrymckennastudio.com
Lawrence Tenney Stevens (1896-1972) was an American sculptor who was one of the progenitors of the "Cowboy High Style" movement in western American art and furniture. He created large allegorical figures and stylized depictions of the American west.
Douwe Blumberg is a bronze sculptor who is most well known for his statue of a special forces soldier on horseback commemorating Special Forces operations in Afghanistan during the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom. He has received more than 200 commissions and a number of awards since becoming a sculptor in 2000. He attended the University of Southern California and studied at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. He was a horse trainer for 18 years before he became a sculptor.
Armando Garcia Hinojosa is an artist and educator from Laredo, Texas, who is known for some half dozen major pieces of sculpture, including the massive Tejano Monument on the south lawn of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. The 12-piece monument was unveiled in the spring of 2012.
The Great God Pan is a bronze sculpture by American sculptor George Grey Barnard. Since 1907, it has been a fixture of the Columbia University campus in Manhattan, New York City.
Robert E. Lee on Traveller is a bronze sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor depicting the Confederate general of the same name, his horse Traveller, and a young Confederate States Army officer, formerly installed at Dallas' Turtle Creek Park, in the U.S. state of Texas. The statue was unveiled by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, removed in 2017, and sold by the city for $1,435,000 to a law firm. It now stands on a Texan golf course.
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