George Washington is getting ready for a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a home in Texas.
Mo Mahmood has taken on the role of a modern-day “monument man.” He founded the nonprofit organization More Monuments and is collaborating with an American sculptor living in France to create a 10-foot plaster statue of George Washington, which will be sent to Austin, he shared with The Dallas Express.
“I really wanted to see a George Washington statue happen, and we’ve made it happen for America 250,” Mahmood said. “We raised funds for it, and we made it happen.”
The statue will go to a private landowner near Austin, according to Mahmood, and it will likely arrive at the Port of Houston in late May or early June. This will come just in time for July 4 – marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Mahmood said the nonprofit has been working independently of the official America 250 committee, aiming to restore American monument-building.
“I remember when Americans used to build large statues and monuments, and they used to be generally happy. There was a very optimistic energy in the air,” Mahmood said. “For example, you think about the Statue of Liberty that was made in 1886. The year is now 2026 – it has been 140 years since we’ve had a large statue in this country.”
While More Monuments’ immediate project will be a 10-foot statue of Washington, the group also hopes to complete a 50-foot statue of Washington by July 4, according to Mahmood.
“The goal would be 50, I’d say at least 25,” he said. “We’re actively fundraising right now for that.”
The larger statue would be aluminum-plated and made in America, per Mahmood. He said “robotic forming technology” would shape the aluminum.
“The goal is just to get something built,” he said. “I think July 4 is going to really be an inflection point for the country.”
One day, Mahmood said the group aspires to build a 500-foot statue of Washington.
So far, the nonprofit has built a 54-foot-tall monument in Austin called “The Wellspring of Progress.” The monument, shaped like an oil derrick, hearkens to the discovery of Spindletop near Beaumont in 1901. This was the breakthrough oil find that led to prosperity for Texas and helped power America’s energy production before and during World War I and World War II.
“It also industrialized all the cities around East Texas – Houston, Beaumont, all those areas,” Mahmood said. “I really think oil gets a bad rap, but without it, we wouldn’t really have a country the way we do today. I mean, it’s really quite important for our history.”
Mahmood said he used to work in robotics and hardware, and ran economic development meetings in college to help people start their own companies.
“I’ve always been into really physical things,” he said. “Where physical things have really stalled over the past few decades, it’s always art. It’s always art and statues and sculptures and structures – physical things that aren’t necessarily functional.”
“A lot of people focus on physical things that are functional, of course, like phones and tablets and computers and rockets and all,” Mahmood added. “But I don’t really see any focus on aesthetic physical things.”
So Mahmood said he launched More Monuments to help restore lost art, especially in appreciating America.
“I think America is really special,” Mahmood said.
“You look at American culture, it’s enabled so much progress and beauty for the world. It’s honestly one of the most beneficial civilizations and a force for good for humanity. I think that’s worth protecting and celebrating,” Mahmood added.
