National Statuary Hall Collection
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The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Originally set up in the old Hall of the House of Representatives, renamed National Statuary Hall, the expanding collection has since been spread throughout the Capitol.
With the addition of New Mexico's second statue in 2005, the collection is now complete with 100 statues contributed by 50 states. Alabama, Arizona, California, Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan each replaced one of their first two statues after Congress authorized replacements.
A special act of Congress, Pub. L. 109–116 (text) (PDF), signed on December 1, 2005, directed the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain a statue of Rosa Parks and to place the statue in the United States Capitol in National Statuary Hall in a suitable permanent location. On February 27, 2013, Parks became the first African American woman to have her likeness in the Hall.[1] Though located in Statuary Hall, Parks' statue is not part of the Collection; neither Alabama (her birth state) nor Michigan (where she lived most of her later years) commissioned it, and both states are represented in the Collection by other statues.
History
The concept of a National Statuary Hall originated in the middle of the nineteenth century, even before the completion of the present House wing in 1857. At that time, the House of Representatives moved into its new larger chamber and the old vacant chamber became a thoroughfare between the Rotunda and the House wing. Suggestions for the use of the chamber were made as early as 1853 by Gouverneur Kemble, a former member of the House, who pressed for its use as a gallery of historical paintings. The space between the columns seemed too limited for this purpose, but it was well suited for the display of busts and statuary.
On April 19, 1864, Representative Justin S. Morrill asked: "To what end more useful or grand, and at the same time simple and inexpensive, can we devote it [the Chamber] than to ordain that it shall be set apart for the reception of such statuary as each State shall elect to be deserving of in this lasting commemoration?" His proposal to create a National Statuary Hall became law on July 2, 1864:
- [...] the President is hereby authorized to invite each and all the States to provide and furnish statues, in marble or bronze, not exceeding two in number for each State, of deceased persons who have been citizens thereof, and illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services such as each State may deem to be worthy of this national commemoration; and when so furnished the same shall be placed in the Old Hall of the House of Representatives, in the Capitol of the United States, which is set apart, or so much thereof as may be necessary, as a national statuary hall for the purpose herein indicated.
Originally, all state statues were placed in National Statuary Hall. However, the aesthetic appearance of the Hall began to suffer from overcrowding until, in 1933, the situation became unbearable. At that time the Hall held 65 statues, which stood, in some cases, three deep. More important, the structure of the chamber would not support the weight of any more statues. Therefore, in 1933 Congress passed a resolution that:
- the Architect of the Capitol, upon the approval of the Joint Committee on the Library, with the advice of the Commission of Fine Arts, is hereby authorized and directed to relocate within the Capitol any of the statues already received and placed in Statuary Hall, and to provide for the reception and location of the statues received hereafter from the States.
Under authority of this resolution it was decided that only one statue from each state should be placed in Statuary Hall. The others would be given prominent locations in designated areas and corridors of the Capitol. A second rearrangement of the statues was made in 1976 by authorization of the Joint Committee on the Library. To improve the crowded appearance of the collection, thirty-eight statues were rearranged in Statuary Hall according to height and material. Statues representing ten of the thirteen original colonies were moved to the Central Hall of the East Front Extension on the first floor of the Capitol. The remainder of the statues were distributed throughout the Capitol, mainly in the Hall of Columns and the connecting corridors of the House and Senate wings. Legislation was introduced in 2005 that would authorize the collection to include one statue from each U.S. Territory, and another bill introduced in 2010 provides for participation by the District of Columbia.
Each statue is the gift of a state, not of an individual or group of citizens. Proceedings for the donation of a statue usually begin in the state legislature with the enactment of a resolution that names the citizen to be commemorated and cites his or her qualifications, specifies a committee or commission to represent the state in selecting the sculptor, and provides for a method of obtaining the necessary funds to carry the resolution into effect. In recent years, the statues have been unveiled during ceremonies in the Rotunda and displayed there for up to six months. They are then moved to a permanent location approved by the Joint Committee on the Library. An act of Congress (2 U.S.C. § 2132), enacted in 2000, permits states to provide replacements and repossess the earlier one.
Demographics
Women
The collection currently includes nine women:[2] Frances E. Willard, the first statue of a woman in the collection, was also sculpted by a woman, Helen Farnsworth Mears;[3] Helen Keller; Florence Sabin; Maria Sanford; Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the House who famously voted against U.S. entry into both World Wars, the only Member of Congress to do so; Sakakewa and Sarah Winnemucca, two of the five American Indians in the collection; Mother Joseph, a native of Canada; and Esther Hobart Morris.
Non-White and Hispanic members
The vast majority of the collection is of White men, but it includes statues of Native Hawaiian Kamehameha I, five American Indians -- Po'pay, Sequoyah, Sakakewa, Washakie, and Sarah Winnemucca—and Dennis Chávez, the first person of Hispanic descent to be elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate. Junípero Serra was born in Spain.
Confederates
The collection contains several statues of leaders of the Confederate States of America, all men who engaged in rebellion against the government that so honors them. These include CSA President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander Stephens and generals, most in Confederate Army uniforms -- Robert E. Lee, Joseph Wheeler, James Z. George, Wade Hampton III, and Edmund Kirby Smith—and army officer Zebulon Baird Vance. Alabama replaced its statue of Confederate politician and army officer Jabez Curry in 2009. Florida approved plans to replace Edmund Kirby Smith in 2016 with a person yet to be determined.
Collection
State | Honoree | Image | Medium | Sculptor | Date placed | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AL | Helen Keller | ![]() |
Bronze | Edward Hlavka | 2009 | Capitol Visitor Center[4] |
AL | Joseph Wheeler | ![]() |
Bronze | Berthold Nebel | 1925 | National Statuary Hall |
AK | Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett | ![]() |
Bronze | Felix W. de Weldon | 1971 | House corridor, 2nd Floor |
AK | Ernest Gruening | ![]() |
Bronze | George Anthonisen | 1977 | Capitol Visitor Center |
AZ | Barry Goldwater | ![]() |
Bronze | Deborah Copenhaver Fellows | 2015 | National Statuary Hall |
AZ | Eusebio F. Kino | ![]() |
Bronze | Suzanne Silvercruys | 1965 | Capitol Visitor Center |
AR | Uriah Milton Rose | ![]() |
Marble | Frederick Ruckstull | 1917 | National Statuary Hall |
AR | James Paul Clarke | ![]() |
Marble | Pompeo Coppini | 1921 | Capitol Visitor Center |
CA | Ronald Reagan | ![]() |
Bronze | Chas Fagan | 2009 | Rotunda |
CA | Junipero Serra | ![]() |
Bronze | Ettore Cadorin | 1931 | National Statuary Hall |
CO | Florence R. Sabin | ![]() |
Bronze | Joy Buba | 1959 | Hall of Columns |
CO | Jack Swigert | ![]() |
Bronze | George and Mark Lundeen |
1997 | Capitol Visitor Center |
CT | Roger Sherman | ![]() |
Marble | Chauncey Ives | 1872 | Crypt |
CT | Jonathan Trumbull | ![]() |
Marble | Chauncey Ives | 1872 | House corridor, 2nd Floor |
DE | John M. Clayton | ![]() |
Marble | Bryant Baker | 1934 | Capitol Visitor Center |
DE | Caesar Rodney | ![]() |
Marble | Bryant Baker | 1934 | Crypt |
FL | John Gorrie | ![]() |
Marble | C. Adrian Pillars | 1914 | National Statuary Hall |
FL | Edmund Kirby Smith[5] | ![]() |
Bronze | C. Adrian Pillars | 1922 | Capitol Visitor Center |
GA | Crawford W. Long | ![]() |
Marble | J. Massey Rhind | 1926 | Crypt |
GA | Alexander Stephens | ![]() |
Marble | Gutzon Borglum | 1927 | National Statuary Hall |
HI | Father Damien | ![]() |
Bronze | Marisol Escobar | 1969 | Hall of Columns |
HI | Kamehameha I | ![]() |
Bronze | Thomas R. Gould | 1969 | Capitol Visitor Center |
ID | George Laird Shoup | ![]() |
Marble | Frederick Triebel | 1910 | National Statuary Hall |
ID | William Edgar Borah | ![]() |
Bronze | Bryant Baker | 1947 | Capitol Visitor Center |
IL | James Shields | ![]() |
Bronze | Leonard W. Volk | 1893 | Hall of Columns |
IL | Frances E. Willard | ![]() |
Marble | Helen F. Mears | 1905 | National Statuary Hall |
IN | Oliver P. Morton | Marble | Charles Niehaus | 1900 | Senate Wing, 1st Floor | |
IN | Lewis Wallace | ![]() |
Marble | Andrew O'Connor | 1910 | National Statuary Hall |
IA | Samuel Jordan Kirkwood | ![]() |
Bronze | Vinnie Ream | 1913 | National Statuary Hall |
IA | Norman Borlaug | ![]() |
Bronze | Benjamin Victor | 2014 | National Statuary Hall |
KS | John James Ingalls | ![]() |
Marble | Charles Niehaus | 1905 | National Statuary Hall |
KS | Dwight D. Eisenhower | File:Eisenhower bronze.jpg | Bronze | Jim Brothers | 2003 | Rotunda |
KY | Henry Clay | ![]() |
Bronze | Charles Niehaus | 1929 | National Statuary Hall |
KY | Ephraim McDowell | ![]() |
Bronze | Charles Niehaus | 1929 | Capitol Visitor Center |
LA | Huey Pierce Long | ![]() |
Bronze | Charles Keck | 1941 | National Statuary Hall |
LA | Edward Douglass White | ![]() |
Bronze | Arthur C. Morgan | 1955 | Capitol Visitor Center |
ME | William King | ![]() |
Marble | Franklin Simmons | 1878 | House corridor, 2nd Floor |
ME | Hannibal Hamlin | ![]() |
Bronze | Charles E. Tefft | 1935 | National Statuary Hall |
MD | Charles Carroll | ![]() |
Bronze | Richard E. Brooks | 1903 | Crypt |
MD | John Hanson | ![]() |
Bronze | Richard E. Brooks | 1903 | Senate corridor, 2nd Floor |
MA | Samuel Adams | ![]() |
Marble | Anne Whitney | 1876 | Crypt |
MA | John Winthrop | ![]() |
Marble | Richard S. Greenough | 1876 | Hall of Columns |
MI | Lewis Cass | ![]() |
Marble | Daniel Chester French | 1889 | National Statuary Hall |
MI | Gerald Ford | ![]() |
Bronze | J. Brett Gill | 2011 | Rotunda |
MN | Henry Mower Rice | ![]() |
Marble | Frederick Triebel | 1916 | National Statuary Hall |
MN | Maria L. Sanford | ![]() |
Bronze | Evelyn Raymond | 1958 | Capitol Visitor Center |
MS | Jefferson Davis | ![]() |
Bronze | Augustus Lukeman | 1931 | National Statuary Hall |
MS | James Z. George | ![]() |
Bronze | Augustus Lukeman | 1931 | Capitol Visitor Center |
MO | Thomas Hart Benton | ![]() |
Marble | Alexander Doyle | 1899 | National Statuary Hall |
MO | Francis Preston Blair, Jr. | ![]() |
Marble | Alexander Doyle | 1899 | Hall of Columns |
MT | Charles Marion Russell | ![]() |
Bronze | John B. Weaver | 1959 | National Statuary Hall |
MT | Jeannette Rankin | ![]() |
Bronze | Terry Minmaugh | 1985 | Capitol Visitor Center |
NE | William Jennings Bryan | ![]() |
Bronze | Rudulph Evans | 1937 | National Statuary Hall |
NE | J. Sterling Morton | ![]() |
Bronze | Rudulph Evans | 1937 | Capitol Visitor Center |
NV | Patrick Anthony McCarran | ![]() |
Bronze | Yolande Jacobson | 1960 | Senate Wing, 2nd Floor |
NV | Sarah Winnemucca | ![]() |
Bronze | Benjamin Victor | 2005 | Capitol Visitor Center |
NH | John Stark | ![]() |
Marble | Carl Conrads | 1894 | Crypt |
NH | Daniel Webster | ![]() |
Marble | Carl Conrads (after Thomas Ball) | 1894 | National Statuary Hall |
NJ | Philip Kearny | ![]() |
Bronze | Henry Kirke Brown | 1888 | Hall of Columns |
NJ | Richard Stockton | ![]() |
Marble | Henry Kirke Brown (completed by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown) |
1888 | Crypt |
NM | Dennis Chavez | ![]() |
Bronze | Felix W. de Weldon | 1966 | Senate Wing, 2nd Floor |
NM | Po'pay | ![]() |
Marble | Cliff Fragua | 2005 | Capitol Visitor Center |
NY | George Clinton | ![]() |
Bronze | Henry Kirke Brown | 1873 | Senate Wing, 2nd Floor |
NY | Robert R. Livingston | ![]() |
Bronze | Erastus Dow Palmer | 1875 | Crypt |
NC | Zebulon Baird Vance | ![]() |
Bronze | Gutzon Borglum | 1916 | National Statuary Hall |
NC | Charles Brantley Aycock | ![]() |
Bronze | Charles Keck | 1932 | Crypt |
ND | John Burke | ![]() |
Bronze | Avard Fairbanks | 1963 | National Statuary Hall |
ND | Sakakawea | ![]() |
Bronze | Arizona Bronze Atelier (after Leonard Crunelle, 1909) | 2003 | Capitol Visitor Center |
OH | James A. Garfield | ![]() |
Marble | Charles Niehaus | 1886 | Rotunda |
OH | William Allen | ![]() |
Marble | Charles Niehaus | 1887 | National Statuary Hall |
OK | Sequoyah | ![]() |
Bronze | Vinnie Ream (completed by G. Julian Zolnay) | 1917 | National Statuary Hall |
OK | Will Rogers | ![]() |
Bronze | Jo Davidson | 1939 | House corridor, 2nd Floor |
OR | Jason Lee | ![]() |
Bronze | Gifford MacG. Proctor | 1953 | National Statuary Hall |
OR | John McLoughlin | ![]() |
Bronze | Gifford MacG. Proctor | 1953 | Capitol Visitor Center |
PA | Robert Fulton | ![]() |
Marble | Howard Roberts | 1889 | National Statuary Hall |
PA | John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg | ![]() |
Marble | Blanche Nevin | 1889 | Crypt |
RI | Nathanael Greene | ![]() |
Marble | Henry Kirke Brown | 1870 | Crypt |
RI | Roger Williams | ![]() |
Marble | Franklin Simmons | 1872 | Senate corridor, 2nd Floor |
SC | John C. Calhoun | ![]() |
Marble | Frederick Ruckstull | 1910 | Crypt |
SC | Wade Hampton | ![]() |
Marble | Frederick Ruckstull | 1929 | Capitol Visitor Center |
SD | William Henry Harrison Beadle | ![]() |
Bronze | H. Daniel Webster | 1938 | National Statuary Hall |
SD | Joseph Ward | ![]() |
Marble | Bruno Beghé | 1963 | Capitol Visitor Center |
TN | Andrew Jackson | ![]() |
Bronze | Belle Kinney Scholz and Leopold Scholz |
1928 | Rotunda |
TN | John Sevier | ![]() |
Bronze | Belle Kinney Scholz and Leopold Scholz |
1931 | National Statuary Hall |
TX | Stephen F. Austin | ![]() |
Marble | Elisabet Ney | 1905 | Hall of Columns |
TX | Sam Houston | ![]() |
Marble | Elisabet Ney | 1905 | National Statuary Hall |
UT | Brigham Young | ![]() |
Marble | Mahonri Young | 1950 | National Statuary Hall |
UT | Philo T. Farnsworth | ![]() |
Bronze | James R. Avati | 1990 | Capitol Visitor Center |
VT | Ethan Allen | ![]() |
Marble | Larkin G. Mead | 1876 | National Statuary Hall |
VT | Jacob Collamer | ![]() |
Marble | Preston Powers | 1881 | Senate Wing, 1st Floor |
VA | Robert E. Lee | ![]() |
Bronze | Edward V. Valentine | 1934 | Crypt |
VA | George Washington | ![]() |
Bronze | Jean Antoine Houdon | 1934 | Rotunda |
WA | Marcus Whitman | ![]() |
Bronze | Avard Fairbanks | 1953 | National Statuary Hall |
WA | Mother Joseph | ![]() |
Bronze | Felix W. de Weldon | 1980 | Capitol Visitor Center |
WV | John E. Kenna | ![]() |
Marble | Alexander Doyle | 1901 | Hall of Columns |
WV | Francis Harrison Pierpont | ![]() |
Marble | Franklin Simmons | 1910 | National Statuary Hall |
WI | Jacques Marquette | ![]() |
Marble | Gaetano Trentanove | 1896 | House corridor, 2nd Floor |
WI | Robert M. La Follette, Sr. | ![]() |
Marble | Jo Davidson | 1929 | National Statuary Hall |
WY | Esther Hobart Morris | ![]() |
Bronze | Avard Fairbanks | 1960 | Hall of Columns |
WY | Washakie | ![]() |
Bronze | Dave McGary | 2000 | Capitol Visitor Center |
Replacement of statues
A 2003 change in the law allows a state to remove a previously placed statue from the collection and replace it with another. Since this change, six states have replaced statues, with one of those states in the process of replacing a second statue; one other is in the process of replacing a statue:
- Kansas replaced its statue of George Glick with one of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2003.[6] The Glick statue now resides at the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka. Currently Kansas has plans to replace John James Ingalls with Amelia Earhart.[7]
- California replaced its statue of Thomas Starr King with one of Ronald Reagan in 2009. The King statue now stands in Capitol Park at the California State Capitol in Sacramento."[8]
- Alabama replaced its statue of Jabez Curry in 2009 with one of Helen Keller. The Curry statue now resides at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
- Michigan replaced its statue of Zachariah Chandler with one of Gerald Ford in 2011.[9][10] The Chandler statue is now in the atrium of Constitution Hall in Lansing, Michigan.[11]
- Iowa replaced its statue of James Harlan in 2014 with one of Norman Borlaug, who is considered the founder of the Green Revolution.[12] The Harlan statue will be displayed at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.[13]
- Arizona replaced its statue of John Campbell Greenway in 2015 with one of Barry Goldwater. The Greenway statue is to be housed at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building near the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.[14]
- Ohio is replacing its statue of William Allen with one of inventor and businessman Thomas Edison.[15][16]
- As of June 2015, California is considering replacing its statue of Junipero Serra with one of astronaut Sally Ride.[17]
- On October 2, 2015, North Carolina governor Pat McCrory signed a bill requesting to replace the statue of Charles Aycock with one of Reverend Billy Graham.[18] However, as legislation governing donation and replacement of statues states they must represent deceased individuals and Reverend Graham is still living, the statue may not be in place for several years.[19]
References
- ^ "Rosa Parks: First Statue of African-American Female to Grace Capitol". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ Equal Visibility Everywhere blog post
- ^ AOC page
- ^ "National Statuary Hall Collection - Helen Keller". Architect of the Capitol. December 4, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ^ On March 11, 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed legislation to remove the statue of Edmund Kirby Smith, with a recommendation that the Florida legislature name a replacement. Florida Politics post
- ^ Holland, Judy (29 March 2008). "Capitol statues switched as subjects' fame fades". Star Tribune. Minneapolis: startribune.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Biles, Jan (12 March 2011). "Amelia's monument about to take flight". The Topeka Capital-Journal. cjonline.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Cheevers, Jack (29 May 2009). "Thomas Starr King deserves better". Los Angeles Times. LATimes.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Simon, Richard (10 September 2011). "Zachariah who? States swap out statues in Capitol hall of fame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Camia, Catalina (3 May 2011). "Gerald Ford honored with statue in U.S. Capitol". USA Today. USAtoday.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ "Statue swap: Zachariah Chandler comes home to Michigan as Gerald R. Ford heads to U.S. Capitol". The Grand Rapids Press. Associated Press. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Doering, Christopher (26 March 2014). "Norman Borlaug enters U.S. Capital's Statuary Hall". The Des Moines Register. desmoinesregister.com. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
- ^ Henderson, O. Kay (9 April 2013). "Harlan statue will move from U.S. Capitol to Mt. Pleasant". Iowa Public Radio. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
- ^ Theobald, Bill (February 11, 2015). "Goldwater statue dedicated in National Statuary Hall". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ "History". Ohio Statuary Hall Commission. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
In 2012, the 129th Ohio General Assembly and Governor Kasich formalized the public vote to replace Allen with Thomas Edison through passage of HB 487 (section 701.121).
- ^ "Panel recommends Thomas Edison statue go in U.S. Capitol". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland: cleveland.com. Associated Press. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ McGreevy, Patrick (April 13, 2015). "State Senate calls for swapping Father Serra statue with one of Sally Ride". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
Finley, Allysia (4 June 2014). "The Political Assault on California's Saint". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2015.The state Assembly and Gov. Brown would still need to OK the statue swap, which doesn't appear to be a legislative priority for either.
- ^ "Governor McCrory Signs Bill Requesting Statue of Billy Graham be Placed in U.S. Capitol" (Press release). North Carolina Office of the Governor. 2015-10-07. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "Procedure and Guidelines for Replacement of Statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection" (PDF). Architect of the Capitol. January 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Aoc.gov: Official National Statuary Hall Collection website
- Aoc.gov: The origins of the National Statuary Hall Collection
- Guide to State Statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection
- Fas.org: "The National Statuary Hall: assignment, use, and historic events" — from the Congressional Research Service.