David Adickes passed away on July 13th, 2025 at 98 years young. David spent most of his life creating art. His stories included meeting and swimming in the ocean with Salvador Dali and attending Pablo Picasso’s 80th birthday. His artworks include Sam Houston (on I-45 just outside of Houston), We Love Houston, Virtuoso (mustached man playing a cello located in downtown, Houston) and dozens of massive president busts. David was also a prolific painter, creating thousands of original paintings, one of which was in Elvis Presley’s collection and hung on the walls of Graceland. David’s longtime life partner, Linda Wiley, was a permanent fixture in his life and accompanied him to dozens of art events and is still beloved by the art community. It was Linda’s love and support that helped David continue to live and thrive and create. Thank you Linda! We appreciate you.
David’s art career and life was what many of Houston’s artists aspire to be. And David was happy to share, teach and guide many of us.
David Adickes and I met in 2007. David and well known artist John Palmer were working on a number of collaborations and I helped manage the project. David and I became fast friends and continued to keep in touch. In 2011, I had my first joint exhibit with David, featuring 4 collaborations between the two of us. In 2013, David and I worked with Tammy Dowe of Spot On Public Relations to create a unique art experience by driving a charter bus of roughly 50 art enthusiasts to Huntsville to visit David’s old high school that he recently turned into a museum of his artwork. It was this exhibit that featured the infamous “Louis Armstrong” collaborations. In 2015, David and I had our 3rd joint exhibit at Glade Gallery in the Woodlands. In 2016, David and I began our first sculpture collaboration. This 20’ tall version of “Pursue Your Passion” was completed and installed in 2018 in Missouri City next to Armstrong Elementary. In 2023, I collaborated with David on one of my “Double Entendre” paintings that became an “Ode to David”. We have collaborated on over 20 original pieces of art. In the spring of next year, I will have an exhibit of all the collaborations that are still available. A huge thanks to Linda Wiley for always fostering our friendship and keeping David around for so many years. David, you were and still are Houston’s most famous artist. You are our Picasso. We will miss your gentle nature, your commanding presence, your larger than life artwork, your jokes, your laugh and your friendship. You were my mentor. You were my friend. I am grateful for the time we had together. You will live on through your art and our memories.
