Object Details
- Caption
- On July 13, 2022, a marble sculpture of Mary McLeod Bethune was installed in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, one of two figures chosen to represent the state of Florida. Bethune is the first African American, and the second woman, to be honored with a state-commissioned statue in the hall. The Florida Legislature selected Bethune to replace a statue of a Confederate general.
- This is the original plaster model created by artist Nilda Comas, who won the commission to create the sculpture of Bethune. She used this plaster model to sculpt the final version in marble.
- Description
- A plaster statue of Mary McLeod Bethune. Bethune is depicted standing, with a smiling expression on her face. She wears a graduation cap, stole and gown, which she wears open over a ruffled shirt and smooth skirt, along with heeled shoes, and a pearl necklace and earrings. Bethune rests her right hand on a cane with carved decorative motifs including a lizard climbing up the bottom half. In her left hand, she holds a rose that is painted black. The back hem of her graduation gown rests upon a stack of seven books. This plaster statue is a model used to create the marble statue in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol and there are multiple machinetta points on each side of the statue created by nails and plaster that were used as part of the replication process.
- Date
- 2020
- Created by
- Nilda Maria Comas, Puerto Rican, born 1953
- Subject of
- Mary McLeod Bethune, American, 1875 - 1955
- Place depicted
- United States, North and Central America
- Place made
- Italy, Europe
- Topic
- African American
- Activism
- Art
- Civil Rights
- Education
- Suffrage
- Women
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Movement
- Women's Club Movement
- Exhibition
- Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women's Activism
- On View
- NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 050
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Nilda Maria Comas
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- SC.0092
- Type
- casts
- multimedia works
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Nilda Comas
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Medium
- plaster with acrylic paint and metal
- Dimensions
- Statue: H x W x D: 96 × 40 1/2 × 36 1/2 in. (243.8 × 102.9 × 92.7 cm)
- Base of Statue: H x W x D: 3 × 24 1/2 × 25 1/2 in. (7.6 × 62.2 × 64.8 cm)
- Record ID
- nmaahc_SC.0092
3D Model