Robert S. “Daddy-O” Wade

Bob Wade was a Texas-born artist best known for his monumental, whimsical public sculptures that celebrated the state’s love of scale, spectacle, and humor. Nicknamed “Daddy-O,” Wade created outsized roadside and urban landmarks over a career spanning more than four decades, including a 40-foot iguana perched atop New York City’s Lone Star Café, the world’s tallest cowboy boot sculpture, and a 63-foot saxophone built from found objects for a Houston nightclub. Born in Austin, Wade studied art at the University of Texas and earned a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He later taught at several Texas institutions before devoting himself fully to large-scale projects. His work blended folk art, pop culture, and conceptual rigor, earning recognition from venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and La Biennale de Paris. Wade’s art was both critically respected and widely beloved for its playful accessibility and bold imagination.