Ken Williams

Mustang Wall

The Mustang Library was designated as the site of the first piece of art commissioned through the Public Art Program for the City of Scottsdale. While Mustang Public Library was under construction, the original architect, Hal Dean, and the interior designer, MBID, In., searched for artwork to complete the interior of the building and give it focus. Their search led them to Ken Williams, an accomplished clay brick muralist out of Pueblo, Colorado, who had completed several successful commissions throughout the West. Unfortunately, building funds ran short and the mural was unable to be commissioned as planned. The library director submitted a request to the Scottsdale Cultural Council to consider funding the project. Through a selection process, the Cultural Council determined that the project should be funded out of the public art monies and completed by artist Ken Williams as the architect and interior designer had originally planned.

The work of art is known as a “bas relief,” which means that it is a sculpture in which the figures project less than half of their true depth from the background. The subject is several galloping mustang ponies against a background of desert mesas.