Sculptor: New Razorback monument 'powerful, spectacular'

FAYETTEVILLE — For Dick Idol, the installation of the Arkansas “Wild Band of Razorbacks” monument is the culmination of nearly six years of work.

Idol, a Montana native who is known as one of the nation’s master wildlife sculptors, began to have talks with Arkansas officials about creating the monument in late 2012. The university received funding needed to begin the sculpting process in late 2014, but a change in where to place the monument delayed the process by about two years.

The monument, which reaches as high as 25 feet and is 50 feet wide, is being assembled on the northeast side of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, near the structure’s gap that allows a view into the stadium from…