'High Plains Drifter' Sculpture Unveiled In Agnes Moffitt Park

HOUSTON, TX — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner began an initiative in 2016 to spread civic art into areas of town that didn't have it, or lacked in it compared to other art-centric areas. Last weekend the Northwest Houston area got its first piece.

The monumental sculpture High Plains Drifter by Peter Reginato was unveiled Sunday at its new home in Agnes Moffitt Park. The statue located tab 10625 Hammerly Blvd. is valued at more than $350,000.

An evaluation of the city's Civic Art Program initiated by Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2016 pinpointed districts that lacked civic art. The evaluation led to the sculpture being relocated away from downtown.

"Every part of the city should be to enjoy civic art right where people live," the mayor said.

Originally commissioned by the developers of the Allen Center and installed in 1974, the work was built in two pieces that were welded together in front of the Allen Center complex downtown.

The dynamic artwork subsequently was donated to the City by Brookfield Properties. It was moved to the District A park after more than a year of site planning and preparation.

Reginato is an abstract sculptor and painter. Born in Dallas, he grew up in the hills outside Oakland, CA and attended the San Francisco Art Institute. He began making abstract sculpture in 1965 and moved to New York City in 1966 to pursue his career as a sculptor. His work can be found in collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Hirshhorn Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution.

The relocation and new siting of the sculpture was made possible by Brookfield Properties, Spring Branch Management District, Council District Service Funds through Council Member Brenda Stardig’s office and Civic Art program funds.

This part of Northwest Houston is in City Council District A represented by Council Member Brenda Stardig.

In 1999, the City of Houston established an ordinance mandating that 1.75 percent of qualified Capital Improvement Project monies be set aside for civic art. The program is managed by the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs.

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For more information about the City’s Cultural Programs, visit the cultural arts website or follow the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs on Facebook @HoustonMOCA.

Photos via City of Houston