Two settlers, a man and a young boy on a horse, ride in bronze as Pioneers of 1889, created by Leonard McMurry with landscape architect Thomas Roberts and installed in Oklahoma City. Cast as two settlers—a man and a young boy on a horse—the grouping is bold and intimate. The bronze figures measure approximately 9 ft.
5 in. x 5 ft. 9 in.
x 10 ft. 6 in., and they rest on a polished granite base roughly 7 ft. 3 in.
x 6 ft. 9 in. x 10 ft.
6 in. The work was copyrighted on February 25, 1957, completed in 1959, and dedicated on April 22, 1960. At the west side of the base a plaque declares: "STRONG MEN AND WOMEN CAME UPON A RAW LAND / WITH VISION...
/ THEY SPANNED RIVERS AND PRAIRIES AND MOUNTAINS / WITH DETERMINATION... Another plaque simply states, "THIS STATUE COMMEMORATES THE PIONEERS OF 1889... Stand close and study the posture of the riders and the grain of the bronze; the piece asks you to consider that history was made by people like these.
Now, look about you.