ZANESVILLE – Zanesville sculptor Alan Cottrill put the final touches – gold leaf gilding – on a 15-foot-tall bronze statue of President Donald Trump three months ago but he’s been holding it hostage until he gets full payment.
“It’s in an undisclosed location in Muskingum County, Ohio,” Cottrill said. “I don’t say any more than that.”
Cottrill is in an ongoing payment dispute with $PATRIOT, a cryptocurrency group that commissioned the work in August 2024. The statue features Trump pumping his fist in the air following a July 2024 assassination attempt in western Pennsylvania.
Cottrill said he’s been paid $300,000 for the piece, as agreed, and an additional $60,000 for the gold leafing. The hang up is over a copyright infringement when the crypto group used images of his original artwork to sell crypto tokens, he said.
The artwork had an ambitious exhibition plan: a two-year cross-country tour, followed by an installation at either a presidential library or the Republican National Committee headquarters, Cottrill said. The latest plan is to place it at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami.
Cottrill said the plans shifted over time, adding “The crypto bros have been flaky as hell from the start.”
A spokesman for the crypto group did not respond to messages seeking comment.
The statue and payment fight has stirred up international media interest and visits from White House representatives, he said.
Who is artist Alan Cottrill?
After a business career, Cottrill, now 73, started studying and working as a sculptor at age 38. He returned to Zanesville at age 50 and founded Coopermill Bronzeworks.
He created the bronze statue of Thomas Edison, installed in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall.
Cottrill, whose younger brother is a Muskingum County Common Pleas Court judge, declined to say whether he’s a fan of Trump.
Zanesville Times Recorder reporter Shawn Digity contributed to this report.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and at @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Donald Trump statue locked away as Ohio artist battles crypto backers
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
