Click here to view the Statue of Freedom Portraits
Portrait of a Goddess
The most elusive statue in the nation has presided of the Great Dome of the United States Capitol since 1863.
The bronze Statue of Freedom is the crowning achievement of American sculptor Thomas Crawford. In 1855, the renowned artist received a commission to create a statue that would represent the soul of the nation. In his studio in Rome, Crawford sculpted the full scale plaster model by 1857. Gravely ill and losing his vision, the artist died soon after its completion. The model, packed into five crates, set sail from Italy in the spring of 1858. After a series of mishaps and transfers during the voyage, the statue arrived in Washington in March of 1859. The Clark Mills Foundry in Bladensburg, Maryland began to cast the five sections in 1860. Work on the statue finished in October of 1862, having been delayed during the Civil War. After a temporary display on the Capitol grounds, the statue was hoisted, section by section, to the top of the newly constructed dome. At noon on Dec. 2, 1863 the final section was lifted into place and secured. The American flag unfurled over her head as a thirty-five gun salute echoed the cannons of the twelve Forts surrounding Washington.
The Statue of Freedom stands 19 feet 6 inches in height and weighs 14,859 pounds. She is a classical female figure wearing flowing drapery with fringe and tassels. The drapery is gathered and held in place with a brooch that is inscribed with the letters "U S". A laurel wreath, symbolizing triumph and honor, is held in her left hand which rests upon the shield of the United States. Her right hand grasps a sheathed sword, symbolic of peace, that is prepared to be drawn if needed. Her head, with long flowing hair, is covered with a helmet encircled with stars, indicating celestial origin and endless existence. To infer that the country Freedom defends is of Indian origin, Crawford fashioned a Native American headdress of an eagle's head, talons, and feathers. Ten bronze points, tipped with platinum, are attached to her headdress, shoulder and shield to protect her from lightning.
In May of 1993, the statue was air-lifted from her pedestal and placed in front of the Capitol for restoration. These rare portraits of Lady Freedom were taken before she was returned to her rightful place in October of that year. She stands on a cast iron globe ringed with the national motto E Pluribus Unum.
The original plaster cast of the Statue of Freedom can be seen in the lower level of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
