“There are a number of things that stood out to me about Daisy Bates,” Victor said. When Victor returns to his home in Idaho, he will make the final touches on the clay statue, create molds, and then cast the bronze version of the statue that will lie in Statuary Hall. Additionally, Arkansas PBS will develop classroom-ready resources aligned with state and national academic standards for social studies and arts education for K-12 students to accompany the film. in December.Īrkansas PBS has been filming this week’s activities and will run an hour-long documentary on the selection, creation, and installation of the new statues in 2023. The Bates and Cash statues are expected to be dedicated in Washington, D.C. Kevin Kresse, a UA Little Rock alumnus, has been commissioned to create a Johnny Cash statue that will also be placed in the U.S. “She would have wished that her husband was alive to see it.”
“Daisy would have been so excited and so grateful and so humbled by it,” Kearney said. Kearney served as a consultant on the statue and provided newspaper articles, photos, and information to assist Victor with the creation of the statue. “This is a great day for Arkansas and the country.” “I’m also so very happy that she is being recognized by not only the state of Arkansas but the country for the leadership and service that she gave for this country,” she said. Janis Kearney, a former newspaper manager for Bates who also purchased Bates’ newspaper when she retired in 1988, said seeing the clay statue of Bates in person left her in awe. I’ve met people who knew Daisy Bates, and that’s been an irreplaceable part of the process.” Benjamin Victor works on the sculpture of Daisy Bates in the Windgate Center of Art and Design. I think the heart of the statue lies with them. “This is a beautiful facility, and it’s been great getting to know the people in the art department and spending time with people from the Daisy Bates Museum. I really loved the university’s facilities,” Victor said. Victor has also had the chance to meet with members of the public, art faculty and students, and people who knew Bates personally. All the people who are most integral to the project can see the full-size clay statue before it’s cast in bronze and be a part of the process.” “All of these experiences help with my experience. “I got to walk through her home and the Daisy Bates Museum and Little Rock Central High School,” he said. The trip has given him the chance to learn more about Bates’ life. He traveled all the way from his home and studio in Boise, Idaho, to work on final details like sculpting Bates’ flower, NAACP pin, and her jewelry at the Windgate Center of Art and Design at UA Little Rock. Victor is working on the clay model from which the bronze statue will be cast. In her right hand, she is holding a notebook and pen to show that she is a journalist.”
I saw this beautiful photo of her holding the newspaper in her hand as she walks and leads a crowd behind her. She was in motion and action for her cause. “I wanted to show her in motion walking because she was an activist,” Victor said. The statue will show Bates in motion with one foot stepping forward, dressed in a business suit while holding a notebook and pen in her right hand and a newspaper in her left hand. Bates, who served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is also famous for her role in organizing the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School by nine Black students in 1957. It would become the largest Black-owned newspaper in Arkansas. Bates, launched the Arkansas Weekly, an African American newspaper dedicated to the civil rights movement. He was commissioned by the National Statuary Hall Steering Committee and the Arkansas Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission to create a 7-foot-6-inch bronze sculpture of Bates, a renowned civil rights activist.īates will be one of the first Black women to be featured in Statuary Hall. Victor would know well since the Bates statue is the fourth statue he’s created for Statuary Hall.
I can’t imagine any person more worthy than Daisy Bates of being immortalized in Statuary Hall.”
“When I read about her life and legacy and accomplishments, I know it will take the best of me in order to do justice to her spirit and legacy. Capitol, has been inspired by Bates for many years. Benjamin Victor, the artist chosen to create a bronze statue of Daisy Bates for the U.S.