Artist: Jac T. Bowen (1966)
Jac T. Bowen was an illustrator, sculptor, and painter, who studied with renowned Missouri artist, Thomas Hart Benton, at the Kansas City Art Institute in the 1940s. Bowen also created numerous fiberglass sculptures throughout the Kansas City metro region. The Landing Shopping Center on Troost Avenue had 30 animal sculptures created by Bowen. In 1971, Bowen was commissioned to replace the famous Plaza Bunnies, that were originally made with plaster of Paris in the early 1930s. From 1962 to 1988, a covered wagon, farmer, and oxen were on display at Prairie Village’s Corinth Square, also made by Bowen. In her 2010 book, Jac T Bowen, A Kansas City Artist, author Marybeth Lake wrote that when Bowen “was creating, he felt he was transported into a world of sheer bliss and inspiration. He felt it was the job of the artist to show people how to have beauty in every aspect of their lives.”
Location: Powell Gardens Front Entrance
Materials: Brass
Sheaves of Wheat is a 4,000 pound, 17-foot-high sculpture made by artist Jac T. Bowen specifically for the Board of Trade Building, which was located on the Country Club Plaza and closed July 2013. Belger Cartage Service of Kansas City installed Sheaves of Wheat on March 25, 1966 at the Kansas City Board of Trade building. At the time it was considered the “world’s largest hand-wrought brass relief,” due to the half-mile of brass tubing used during its construction. When the Board of Trade closed in Kansas City, the artwork was donated to Powell Gardens facilitated by Wendy Powell & Marty Bicknell. The sculpture was installed in the fall of 2020 with the completion of the new Front Entrance monument and garden.