PISTOL PETE. YEAH, IT WAS JUST MOMENTS AGO THEY UNVEILED THEIR NEWEST SCULPTURE, FRANK EATON PISTOL PETE. THE ARTIST PASSED AWAY LAST YEAR. HAROLD HOLDEN. THIS WOULD BE HIS 25TH AND FINAL SCULPTURE. SO LIKE ANY GOOD FRIEND WOULD. HIS FRIENDS FINISHED HIS LAST PIECE FOR HIM. HAROLD HOLDEN IS A RENOWNED OKLAHOMA ARTIST KNOWN FOR HIS SCULPTURES AND PAINTINGS OF THE WESTERN LIFESTYLE. FRIENDS SAY HE WAS A TRUE COWBOY. HOLDEN’S ART CAN BE FOUND ACROSS THE U.S. AND HERE IN OKLAHOMA, BUT IT WAS FRANK EATON, THE INSPIRATION BEHIND PISTOL PETE THAT WAS THE ARTIST’S LAST PIECE. TODAY SPOKE TO JOHN RUHL, A FELLOW SCULPTOR AND FRIEND OF HOLDEN WHO HELPED FINISH THE SCULPTURE. THIS PIECE WAS SOMETHING THAT HAROLD WANTED TO DO FOR A LONG TIME, 20 YEARS, AND IT GOT PUT BACK ON THE BACK BURNER SEVERAL TIMES AND IN HIS HEALTH GOT BAD. THE STORY GOES, HE WAS IN A PARADE AND PISTOL PETE WAS IN THAT PARADE. AND WHEN HAROLD WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, SO THAT WAS SOMETHING HE WANTED TO DO HIS WHOLE LIFE. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE DID WAS RIGHT AND WHAT HAROLD WOULD HAVE WANTED. I HOPE WE DID THAT. HOLDEN CREATED THREE OTHER SCULPTURES ASIDE FROM PISTOL PETE, INCLUDING. WE WILL REMEMBER A PIECE DEDICATED TO THE MEN WHO DIED IN THE 2001 MEN’S BASKETBALL PLANE CRASH. IN 2001.
Oklahoma State University unveils Pistol Pete statue
It was a moving ceremony on Friday as Oklahoma State University unveiled a late artist’s final project, a statue of Pistol Pete.
![KOCO logo]()
Updated: 12:56 PM CDT Sep 7, 2024
It was a moving ceremony on Friday as Oklahoma State University unveiled a late artist’s final project, a statue of Pistol Pete.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.Harold Holden died last year while working on the piece, his 25th and final sculpture. So, like any good friends would, fellow artists helped finish the statue for him.A renowned Oklahoma artist, Holden was known for his sculptures and paintings of the western lifestyle and his friends said he was a true cowboy.His artworks can be found across the U.S. and here in Oklahoma.But it was Frank Eaton, the inspiration behind Pistol Pete, that Holden focused on for his final piece.>> Download the KOCO 5 App“This piece was something that Harold wanted to do for a long time, 20 years, and it got put back on the backburner, and then his health got bad,” said John Rule, Holden’s friend and fellow sculptor who helped finish the statue. “The story goes, he was in a parade, and Pistol Pete was in that parade when Harold was 5 years old, so it’s something he wanted to do his whole life. We wanted to make sure that what we did was right and what Harold would have wanted, I hope we did that,” Rule said.Holden created three other sculptures for OSU, including “We Will Remember,” a piece dedicated to the 10 men who lost their lives in the 2001 men’s basketball plane crash.Top HeadlinesInvestigation continues after bodies of 2 toddlers found inside car on Norman roadTaylor Swift shows at Arrowhead Stadium to watch Travis Kelce, Chiefs face Ravens in NFL openerOKC metro school districts take action after shooting threats circulate onlineTeen charged in deadly shooting at Georgia high school appears in court for hearingTwo brothers, two sisters charged in death of 7-year-old Midwest City
STILLWATER, Okla. — It was a moving ceremony on Friday as Oklahoma State University unveiled a late artist’s final project, a statue of Pistol Pete.
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
Harold Holden died last year while working on the piece, his 25th and final sculpture.
So, like any good friends would, fellow artists helped finish the statue for him.
A renowned Oklahoma artist, Holden was known for his sculptures and paintings of the western lifestyle and his friends said he was a true cowboy.
His artworks can be found across the U.S. and here in Oklahoma.
But it was Frank Eaton, the inspiration behind Pistol Pete, that Holden focused on for his final piece.
>> Download the KOCO 5 App
“This piece was something that Harold wanted to do for a long time, 20 years, and it got put back on the backburner, and then his health got bad,” said John Rule, Holden’s friend and fellow sculptor who helped finish the statue.
“The story goes, he was in a parade, and Pistol Pete was in that parade when Harold was 5 years old, so it’s something he wanted to do his whole life. We wanted to make sure that what we did was right and what Harold would have wanted, I hope we did that,” Rule said.
Holden created three other sculptures for OSU, including “We Will Remember,” a piece dedicated to the 10 men who lost their lives in the 2001 men’s basketball plane crash.
Top Headlines
