Navigate to Homepage
Search
Main navigation
  

        
              Explore the Capitol Campus
                          Art
                            Buildings & Grounds
                            Capitol Hill Facts
                            Visitor Resources
                            Our Blog
                            What We Do
                          Areas of Expertise
                            Programs & Ceremonies
                            Projects
                            Publications
                            Strategic Objectives
                            About Us
                          Who We Are
                            History of the AOC
                            News & Notices
                            Organizational Structure
                            Partnerships & Recognition
                            Work With UsSearch Breadcrumb
    HomeExplore the Capitol CampusOur Blog
Restoring Freedom From Historic Separations

By Franklin Bradley | February 2, 2023
        
                  Image
    Statue being moved with people on balcony above.

After carefully disassembling the plaster Statue of Freedom, Smithsonian employees prepare it for storage in 1967.

The saw rasped through the towering plaster masterpiece cast in Rome and destined to be the centerpiece of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (CVC): the Statue of Freedom. But on that day in 1967, the grating sound echoed through the Smithsonian rotunda, white dust drifted to the floor and the robed figure was separated into pieces — a crown, a hand, a wreath. Packed into crates, the statue was carried away, not to be seen for decades.

From the time all of its pieces arrived in America in 1859, the 15,000-pound plaster Statue of Freedom has relied on many skilled hands over many generations to preserve it. But before each restoration effort, the beautiful plaster figure had to be cut into pieces. Repeatedly.

Image
    Statue of a person standing.

The plaster model stands on display above busts in National Statuary Hall in 1860, after its delivery from Rome.American sculptor Thomas Crawford, working in his studio in Rome in the 1850s, cast the plaster model of Freedom from his original clay sculpture in five separate sections. When it arrived in Washington, D.C. — where skilled craftsmen and artisans were rare — an Italian sculptor assembled the plaster statue for display in National Statuary Hall.

However, when the plaster model of the Statue of Freedom had to be moved to the foundry for casting in bronze, no one knew how to separate the sections and the sculptor refused to help unless given a pay raise. Unfortunately for the sculptor, Philip Reid was there.

Reid was an enslaved laborer in the foundry. He determined that pulling up on the lifting ring at the top of the plaster model would reveal the seams between the sections. When this was done, the statue was successfully separated into its five sections and transported to the foundry.

Reid was instrumental in casting the bronze monument that was mounted atop the Capitol Dome on December 2, 1863, hundreds of feet above the next resting place of the plaster model that it was cast from.

Artifacts and a sign describing them.

Statue of a person cut in half.

Plaster pieces of the model following a period of storage; moving larger sections of the model.


With no suitable space for the assembled plaster statue in the U.S. Capitol Building, then-Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark had the disassembled model stored in crates in the basement. But Clark believed the plaster statue should be displayed, so he showed Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution the sections of the statue in the U.S. Capitol basement and asked if the museum could display the reassembled original.

The Secretary was receptive to the proposal, but there was no space large enough in the Smithsonian. Yet. The sections of the statue remained in storage until the Smithsonian completed construction of the Arts and Industries Building in 1881, where Crawford's work took center stage, standing tall over display cases for decades to come.

However, the years it waited in storage took a toll on the fragile plaster, as described in the 1891 report of the Smithsonian Board of Regents:

*The model, which had remained for nearly thirty years in the basement of the capitol, was found to be so broken, many of the more delicate parts being entirely gone, that its complete restoration from the fragments seemed impossible. In addition to difficulties of this sort, in order to move and place safely in position the immense pieces of the statue which remained intact, it was found necessary to saw them carefully into smaller parts, which after being lifted into place were securely reunited.1*

Painstakingly reassembled and placed in the Arts and Industries Building rotunda, the Statue of Freedom gazed out over the museum galleries as displays were moved in and out around it, including aviator Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis monoplane and a full-sized model of the Mariner 4 spacecraft.

Image
    Plaster statue behind a spacecraft.

Freedom stands over a model of the Mariner 4 spacecraft in the rotunda of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building.Freedom stood in the museum from 1900 to 1967, when Smithsonian employees once again carefully sawed apart the statue. They removed smaller sections, then separated the top and bottom of the massive plaster model. Once all the parts were secured in protective crates, they were again put into storage.

When the Statue of Freedom made a final return to Capitol Hill in 1992, an Architect of the Capitol (AOC) paint crew exfoliated the statue's leaded paint surface. AOC Paint Division General Supervisor Ken Riley spent many hours carefully scraping off the flaking paint. He remembered, "The biggest challenge was not damaging the brittle — and historic — plaster substrate."

Person sawing off a portion of a statue.
    Two people working on a statue.
    Piece of sculpture.
    
To preserve the fragile plaster model, Smithsonian employees carefully sawed off and lifted away smaller pieces, such as the hand holding the wreath, before moving the larger sections.


Riley thought the plaster model's shield looked like it had been in a battle. "Because I'd worked on the restoration of the pedestal on top of the Capitol, I'd seen the bronze statue's shield up close with its beautiful concise straight lines. I knew that the plaster model must have at one time looked like that, so I ended up spending a lot of time working to correct the alignment of the 13 stripes on the shield."

After restoration, the Statue of Freedom model was transported — with just inches to spare in some hallways — to the basement rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building. In 2008, AOC employees once again expertly disassembled and moved Crawford's masterpiece to its current location as the centerpiece of Emancipation Hall. In the towering stone room at the center of the CVC, in the early morning quiet before its doors opened to the public, the only sound was the soft scrape of a plaster knife.

Person wearing a hardhat with a United States flag on it.

Person wearing a hardhat holding a round object.

After the Statue of Freedom model was placed in Emancipation Hall in the CVC, AOC craftsmen carefully rejoined the sections and replaced the pieces that had fallen off during moving and storage.


Skilled AOC artisans were once again sealing the cuts that had separated the figure into two large halves. They carefully reattached elements, such as the hand holding a wreath and all the decorations from her gown.

For 165 years, AOC employees have preserved the Statue of Freedom in her many forms, restored her when necessary and always inspired awe in those who experience the beauty and power of her presence.

*1 Smithsonian Institution. Board of Regents & United States National Museum. (1846). Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution (1891 Incl Rpt US Natl Mus). Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved from https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/annualreportofbo1891smitso*
Comments
    
  
    
Martin Shore (not verified)PermalinkFebruary 2, 2023 - 4:35pmNice article!  Consider a follow up to this describing and illustrating the Statue's move from Russell to the CVC. I have some pictures I can send you!
ReplyLeo Thiner (not verified)PermalinkFebruary 2, 2023 - 5:41pm

              In reply to Nice article!  Consider a... by Martin Shore (not verified)Interesting for sure -
Reply  
MARY LILLY (not verified)PermalinkFebruary 2, 2023 - 4:47pmThe only word  I  can say is WOW1 what a job great craftsman!
ReplyNanette Gibbs (not verified)PermalinkFebruary 3, 2023 - 7:03amThe article serves as a tribute to all who work with their hands.
ReplyKatya Miller (not verified)PermalinkFebruary 5, 2023 - 11:11pmI have been researching and writing about this Statue of Freedom, also known as Lady Freedom for years and hadn't heard about this slice of her life. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyLATONDRA DENIS... (not verified)PermalinkJuly 4, 2023 - 12:34pmTJHANK YOU
ReplyAdd new comment
    Your name
Email Address
        The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Comment
About text formats
Plain text
  
  
      
          No HTML tags allowed.
                      Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
                      Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
          
    
      Recent Stories
Related Articles
            
          History & Discoveries

  Evolution of Women in Art at the U.S. Capitol

An in-depth look at the evolution of women in art at the U.S. Capitol.
    History & Discoveries

  Capitol Illumination

Learn more about the history of lighting this iconic building including the part of the Dome called the "tholos."
    History & Discoveries

  Artfully Yours, George Washington

While George Washington never actually graced the halls of the U.S. Capitol, his presence, influence and even his likeness, is everywhere including 35 pieces of art.
    History & Discoveries

  Unearthing Capitol Hill's Buried History

Visit Congressional Cemetery and discover the many connections the Architect of the Capitol has to this hallowed ground.
    
                      More Stories Serve. Preserve. Inspire.

              Contact Us
                            Accountability
                            Hill Staff Resources
                            AOC Staff Resources
Utility
  

        
              Privacy Policy
                            Image Terms of Use
                            Inspector General
                            U.S. Botanic Garden
                            U.S. Capitol Visitor CenterFacebook
	Twitter
	Flickr
	YouTube
	Instagram
	Subscribe