You May Not Know His Name, But I Promise You Know His Art!
The incredible thing about artists is that you may never know their name, but you know their art.
We recently lost one of those artists. David Pryor Adickes passed away on July 13, 2025, in Houston at age 98, leaving behind a legacy of monumental public art visible across Houston and beyond.
His first major public commission is a piece you know if you’ve ever been downtown. You know the mustachioed cello player outside the Lyric Centre on the corner of Louisiana and Prairie? That was his first commissioned piece in 1983, titled “Virtuoso”.
I guarantee that you have driven past his 67-foot statue of Sam Houston just off 45 near Huntsville, one of the world’s tallest monuments to an American historical figure. Or his “Mount Rush Hour” where I-10 meets I-45 near downtown. Also known as American Statesmanship Park, featuring 18‑foot busts of Stephen F. Austin, Abraham Lincoln, Sam Houston and George Washington installed in 2012.
In Houston’s East Downtown, his larger-than-life Beatles statues of John, Paul, George, and Ringo that stood at 8th Wonder Brewery before their recent relocation.
He also created the vibrant 28-foot “We Love Houston” sign, now at Bush Intercontinental Airport, and a smaller version, “We Love Houston, Too”, greeting travelers at Hobby Airport.
Adickes didn’t just sculpt history; he celebrated creativity itself. His bright, blocky “I ♥ Art” installation outside his former studio in the Heights was a love letter to artistic expression. With bold letters, vivid color, and a literal heart, it captured the joy he found in creating and sharing beauty.
Adickes was known for his humor, passion, and vision to place art “in the public eye,” whether through sculptures of U.S. presidents or whimsical public monuments. His art continues to greet Houstonians daily, a testament to a creative life that literally loomed large.
We may have never known him personally, but we know him thanks to his art, which will always make us smile every time we drive past it.
Thanks, David Adickes!
Doug O
