Pegasus
Owner: Country Club Plaza KC Partners LLC
Artist: Wheeler Williams (original), Paul McGovney (replica)
Dates: 1946, Originally installed 1954, first relocation 1963
Medium: Bronze (sculpture), concrete (base)
Description:
Pegasus was originally part of a fountain that was placed inside the Millemans restaurant at 4747 Ward Parkway on the Country Club Plaza in 1954. The original sculpture, created by Wheeler Williams, was the focal point of the fountain surrounded by water jets. In 1963, the sculpture was moved to the intersection of 47th Street and Broadway. It was later relocated to its current location and placed upon a tall pedestal where it could keep watch over the intersection of Broadway and Nichols Road.
In 1990, the original sculpture was stolen. Paul McGovney, then a student in the art department at UMKC, had previously made a smaller model of Pegasus for a woman who visited Country Club Plaza and fell in love with the sculpture. Upon learning that the original had been stolen, Mr. McGovney contacted the JC Nichols Company and let them know he had made the small model and could create a full-size model to replace the stolen sculpture. This is the sculpture that stands there today.
