National Statuary Hall Collection


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. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hall of the House of Representatives, which was then renamed National Statuary Hall. The expanding collection has since been spread throughout the Capitol and its Visitor's Center.
With the addition of New Mexico's second statue in 2005, the collection is now complete with 100 statues contributed by 50 states, plus one from the District of Columbia, and one for all the states, a statue of Rosa Parks. Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ohio have each replaced one of their first two statues after Congress authorized replacements in 2000.

History

The concept of a National Statuary Hall originated in the middle of the nineteenth century, 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.
, right, poses at the unveiling and dedication of the Po'pay statue in September 2005. The statue is the 100th in the collection.
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 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:
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:
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; it did not pass.
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, enacted in 2000, permits states to provide replacements and repossess the earlier one.
A of Congress,, 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. Though located in Statuary Hall, Parks' statue is not part of the Collection; neither Alabama nor Michigan commissioned it, and both states are represented in the Collection by other statues.
In 2002, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill in Congress to allow the District of Columbia to place two statues in the collection, in parity with the 50 states. While the bill was not enacted, the district commissioned two statues, one of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the other of D.C. master planner Pierre L'Enfant, and housed them in One Judiciary Square in hopes of eventually placing them in the Capitol. A 2010 version of the bill to accept D.C.'s statues stalled after House Republicans began adding amendments weakening D.C.'s gun laws. A 2012 compromise bill led to the placement of the statue of Douglass, but not L'Enfant, on June 19, 2013. Norton has continued to pursue legislation to move the second statue to the Capitol.
Amid national debates about Confederate statues and monuments, Democrats in Congress introduced bills in 2017 to remove statues of people who served in the Confederacy from the National Statuary Hall Collection, but the legislation made no progress. Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas have passed resolutions to remove statues of individuals with Confederate ties, although Alabama retained a second statue of a Confederate veteran. North Carolina and Arkansas have authorized replacing statues of Jim Crow-era politicians with racist views.

Demographics

Women

There are nine statues of women representing states in the collection: Frances E. Willard, the first statue of a woman in the collection, was also sculpted by a woman, Helen Farnsworth Mears; Helen Keller ; Florence Sabin ; Maria Sanford ; Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the House and, famously, the only Member of Congress to vote against U.S. entry into both World Wars; Sacagawea and Sarah Winnemucca, two of the six American Indians in the collection; Mother Joseph, a native of Canada; and Esther Hobart Morris. The statue of Rosa Parks does not represent any single state. Statues of Willa Cather, Mary McLeod Bethune and Daisy Bates have been authorized.

Native Hawaiian and Native American members

Includes statues of Hawaiian Kamehameha I and of six American Indians: Popé, Will Rogers, Sequoyah, Sacagawea, Washakie, and Sarah Winnemucca. Nebraska has authorized the addition of a statue of Chief Standing Bear.

Members of Hispanic descent

, the first person of Hispanic descent to be elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate, represents New Mexico. Saint Junípero Serra, born in Spain, was a Spanish-era founder of the California mission system.

African-American members

In February 2013, a statue of Rosa Parks was placed as the first full-length statue of an African-American in the Capitol. It did not represent a particular state, but was commissioned directly by congress. A few months later, on Juneteenth, 2013, a statue of Frederick Douglass was placed in the Capitol Visitor Center as a gift of the District of Columbia. There are also busts of Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth.
Until 2018, no state had designated an African American as one of its two statues. In March 2018, the Governor of Florida signed legislation to replace the statue of Edmund Kirby Smith with one of African-American educator and Civil Rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. In April 2019, Arkansas also authorized a statue of Daisy Bates.

Catholic Clergy

The collection includes Father Damien from Hawai'i, Father Jacques Marquette from Wisconsin, Father Junipero Serra from California, and Father Eusebio Kino from Arizona, as well as Mother Joseph from Washington.

Confederates

The collection contains several statues of leaders of the Confederate States of America. These include CSA President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander Stephens and Confederate soldiers, most in Confederate Army uniforms: Generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Wheeler, James Z. George, Wade Hampton III, and Edmund Kirby Smith, as well as Colonel Zebulon Baird Vance and former enlisted soldiers John E. Kenna and Edward Douglass White. The collection also includes a statue of Uriah M. Rose, "an attorney who sided with the Confederacy" and was the chancellor of Pulaski County, Arkansas while Arkansas was part of the Confederacy.
Alabama replaced its statue of Confederate politician and army officer Jabez Curry in 2009. In 2018 the Florida legislature voted to replace Edmund Kirby Smith with African-American educator and Civil Rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. In 2019, Arkansas decided to replace both its statues, including the one of Uriah M. Rose, with civil rights activist Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash.

Collection

State gifts

Other statues of people

Other sculptures under the control of the Architect of the Capitol
HonoreeMediumSculptorDate placedLocation
Abraham LincolnMarbleVinnie Ream1871Rotunda
Alexander HamiltonMarbleHoratio Stone1868Rotunda
Martin Luther King Jr.BronzeJohn Woodrow Wilson1986Rotunda
Edward Dickinson BakerMarbleHoratio Stone1876Hall of Columns
Sojourner TruthBronzeArtis Lane2009Capitol Visitor Center
James MadisonMarbleWalker Hancock1976James Madison Memorial Building
Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. AnthonyMarbleAdelaide Johnson1920Rotunda
Thomas JeffersonBronzePierre-Jean David d’Angers1834Rotunda
Ulysses S. GrantMarbleFranklin Simmons1899Rotunda
Rosa ParksBronzeEugene Daub2013National Statuary Hall
Frederick DouglassBronzeSteven Weitzman2013Capitol Visitor Center

Allegorical or mythical sculptures

Sculpture under the control of the Architect of the Capitol
TitleMediumSculptorDate placedLocationComment
Car of HistoryMarbleCarlo Franzoni1819National Statuary Halldepicts Clio, the muse of history
Liberty and the EaglePlasterEnrico Causici1817–1819National Statuary Hall
Statue of FreedomBronzeThomas Crawford1863top of dome
The Progress of CivilizationMarbleThomas Crawford1863Pediment over Senate Portico, East Front
Apotheosis of DemocracyMarblePaul Wayland Bartlett1916Pediment, East FrontFigures of Peace protecting Genius surrounded by scenes depicting Industry and Agriculture
Genius of America SandstoneLuigi Persico1825–1828East Central EntranceAmerica with Justice and Hope, duplicated and replaced by Genius of America
Genius of America MarbleBruno Mankowski1959–60East Central Entranceduplicate in marble of Genius of America
Fame and Peace Crowning George Washington SandstoneAntonio Capellano1827East central portico, above the Rotunda doorsduplicated and replaced by Fame and Peace...
Fame and Peace Crowning George Washington MarbleG. Gianetti1959–60East central portico, above the Rotunda doorsduplicate in marble of Fame and Peace...
Justice and HistoryMarbleThomas Crawford1863East Front

Replacement of statues

A 2000 change in the law allows a state to remove a previously placed statue from the collection and replace it with another. Since then, seven states have replaced statues and other states have either considered or passed legislation calling for replacing one or both of their statues.

Replacements