KALISPELL – A legendary Montana artist is now setting off for Winslow, Arizona for the 20th anniversary of his most famous work.
Ronald Adamson got an email 20 years ago asking for a proposal to do a sculpture from the Eagles song, “Take it Easy”.
“They wanted a 70’s individual with the haircut not too long, not too short, blue jeans — basically the guy is wearing a vest standing on the corner a guitar player is not going to let his guitar touch the ground so he balances it on his boot that kind of thing,” Adamson said.
A staple in the art scene from Great Falls to Seattle, Adamson says he mostly represents a little bit of the art you see in northwest Montana.
“Born and raised in Libby. I learned how to carve while I worked in a lumber mill,” Adamson said.
The sculptor who works in wood, stone and bronze, now has a long drive ahead of him.
He’s headed to Winslow, Arizona for the 20th anniversary of the installation of his Bronze Statue on Route 66 where travelers can’t help but stop to snap pictures, making it an icon.
“He’s right on the corner so when you’re in your car you look and his head is tilted so he is looking at the cars and behind him is a mural of a girl in a flatbed Ford and it looks like a window reflection and she’s looking at him so its the entire corner of the block is from that song Take is Easy so it’s a song that made a location famous as well that made that town famous and me,” Adamson said.
Adamson says he expects to arrive in Arizona Thursday for the celebration over the weekend.
-Nicole Miller reporting for MTN News
