“Shadows on the Llano Estacado”

“The Llano Estacado is part of the vast plains running between Texas and New Mexico. It is bounded on the west by the Pecos Valley and on the east by the red Permian plains of Texas. The Llano is a flat, arid plateau that is dry and treeless.

Romantic history holds that due to the lack of trees and landmarks, the early explorers marked the plain with stakes so that they could travel from one marker to the next without getting lost. However, the “staked plain” is a mistranslation of Estacado, which more accurately translates to “palisaded plain” and refers to the 300-foot escarpment or cap-rock formation along the Canadian River east of Tucumcari, NM…

Gene created Shadows on the Llano Estacado as a monument to the early explorers who struggled to cross it. It was the first of three sculptures that have solid legs, rather than a more realistic approach.”

– Rebecca Tobey – Excerpt from “Partners in Art”