Cy and Linda Elmburg present Will Rogers Memorial Museums Director Tad Jones a Nick Calcagno statue they commissioned. The statue will become a part of the Museum collection and will soon be on display.
A beautiful statue of Will Rogers, in full cowboy gear with rope in hand, has been given to Will Rogers Memorial Museum by a Grove-area couple. Linda and Cy Elmburg presented the Nick Calcagno sculpture to Museum Director Tad Jones.
Mrs. Elmburg commissioned the Miami artist to do a picture of her husband and his Arabian horse. During this time, they learned the artist wanted to do a statue of Will Rogers — and it happened. Of the dozen cast, they have all been given away.
The sculpture is an excellent likeness of Will, with hat in one hand and the looped rope in the other.
“We are very grateful for this wonderful statue of Will and it is really a great likeness,” Jones said. “It is a wonderful addition to the collection.”
Calcagno, an artist and muralist, created the Norseman sculpture at Northeastern Oklahoma at Miami, the Steve Owens sculpture at the University of Oklahoma Heisman Park, and the Mickey Mantle statue at Commerce High School.
Before his death, he was a professor at NEO for 39 years and served as chairman of the fine arts department.
The Elmburgs are retired, but operate a ranch in the Grand Lake area and are active in the Lake community.
