Our Lady Freedom
Architect of the Capitol – public domain image gallery
If the World’s Democracies have a single representative visual image, it may very well be the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The gleaming white domed Capitol is one of the world’s most recognizable buildings and is an icon of America expressing her ideals of freedom, independence and self-government by the people. As you might imagine the design and construction of the dome, as it appears today, has experienced quite an evolution over the years.
In 1792, the US government offered a design competition for a new Capitol building.
In 1793, President George Washington awarded the 1st prize to William Thornton, a medical physician who was later named the first “Architect of the Capitol”.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson hired Benjamin Henry Latrobe Father of American Architecture as the second “Architect of the Capitol”.
Charles Bulfinch was hired to replace Latrobe as the third “Architect of the Capitol”, and he designed a great central dome constructed 1818-1826. Bulfinch designed the dome and Rotunda following the classical proportions of the Pantheon in Rome.
Originally constructed of wood, in 1855 amid fears of potential fire, a second and larger replacement structure of cast iron was designed by Thomas U. Walter. Thirty-six columns and thirty six curving iron trusses (one every 10 degrees) support the graceful details of the multi-tiered dome completed in 1866.
Walter also envisioned a monumental statue on top of it all. His first sketch imagined a figure symbolically granting Liberty to a slave of ancient Rome.
So what is the final figure on top of it all? What (or who?) is that dark silhouetted detail at the peak of the bright white dome? Do you think most American citizens could identify the crowning feature atop the most famous roof in the United States? Can you?
The Statue of Freedom (aka Lady Freedom) atop the United States Capitol dome was designed by Thomas Crawford, an American sculptor, in his studio in Rome, Italy. When he died in 1857, his widow had the plaster sculpture sent to America, and Clark Mills was hired to cast the statue in bronze in 1860 just as the War Between the States began. The final bronze statue is 19’-6” tall and weighs approximately 15,000 pounds.
Architect of the Capitol – public domain image gallery
The statue is a classical female figure:
She wears flowing draperies with a brooch inscribed “U.S.”
Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword.
Her left hand holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes.
Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle’s head, feathers, and talons – a reference to the attire of Native Americans. The lower part of the base is decorated with fasces (bundle of rods representing authority) and wreaths.
Ten bronze points tipped with platinum are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from lightning.
She stands on a cast-iron globe encircled with the words E Pluribus Unum (“one out of many”) representing the unity of the states.
The Mississippi Capitol pediment tympanum was designed to typify all the arts, resources, and industries of the state, as interpreted in 1903. The central figure (Mother Mississippi), stately, majestic, seated upon a throne, her feet upon a bale of cotton and holding in her right hand the sword of empire and in her left the palm branch, is a personification of the great commonwealth of Mississippi – designed and modeled by Robert P. Bringhurst of St. Louis
This Statue of Freedom is but one of the family of female figures that represent the wholesome ideals of America. Images of women have been widely used for many years to symbolize the traits, virtues and opportunities of the United States of America. Various examples of historical artwork, dating back to colonial 17th century, represent the New World as an Indian Queen – a voluptuous, but stern Native American woman. Other images include the Statue of Liberty (Lady Liberty) and various Ladies of Justice (Lady Justicia) that adorn courthouses across the country – see examples above and below.
6′ tall antique Lady Justicia in the Flora, Mississippi office of D. Tracy Ward, Architect
D. Tracy Ward, Architect
Originally prepared 2013 – Reedited & Uploaded March 30, 2018 * – DTW’s Blog #0013
* Today is ‘Good Friday’ or ‘Holy Friday’. . . First Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”
Our Original Posts, including images when applicable, are copyrighted © 1993-2018 by D. Tracy Ward and Benchmark Design, PC. God bless America! Treasure Liberty always and pass it on! “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” (President Harry S. Truman)
