''Samuel Kirkwood'' is a bronze statue created by

Vinnie Ream Lavinia Ellen "Vinnie" Ream Hoxie (September 25, 1847 – November 20, 1914) was an American sculptor. Her most famous work is the statue of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in the United States Capitol rotunda. Ream's '' Statue of Sequoyah' ...

and placed in the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

in the Capitol Building in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, one of the two statues there from Iowa. It was dedicated in 1913. Ream, who had achieved some degree of fame as a teenager for her 1866 statue of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

that stands in the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, learned that the State of Iowa had decided to commission a statue of Kirkwood. Despite the fact that Kirkwood had been one of the Congressmen who had voted against awarding the Lincoln statue to Ream, she set about getting and succeeded in garnering the opportunity to do it. Ream had at that point been retired from sculpting for almost two decades but with the backing of Kirkwood's widow Jane Kirkwood won the assignment. On April 5, 1906 the Iowa General Assembly voted to award the statue to Ream, along with $5,000 for the casting in bronze of her model. Because she was not up to the physical demands of the task, Ream's husband

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, an engineer, devised a special “boatswain’s chair” that allowed her to raise and lower herself in a seated position while working on the statue. In 1924, it was announced that a “handsome bronze statue of Iowa’s war governor” would be erected in front of the

Iowa Old Capitol Building The Iowa Old Capitol Building is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was once the main government building for the state of Iowa, and it now stands as the most prominent landmark at the center of the University of Iowa's campus. The b ...

on the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

campus in Iowa City. The plaster that Ream had made for the Washington, D.C., statue was still in her studio, though she had died a decade earlier. In November 1927, the new casting was completed and dedicated in front of the Old Capitol. In 1974, the statue was moved to

Kirkwood Community College Kirkwood Community College is a public community college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kirkwood has a secondary campus in Iowa City, and several additional regional and county centers located in Belle Plaine, Coralville, Hiawatha, Monticello, Tipton ...

. There it was placed initially indoors in a new building then later moved to an exterior place on the campus.Juhl. Paul C., A Curious Iowa Connection: Vinnie Ream and the Statue of Samuel Kirkwood, Iowa City: Brushy Creek Publishing, 2011 pp. 59–61.

References

External links

* {{National Statuary Hall Collection 1913 sculptures 1927 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Kirkwood, Samuel Outdoor sculptures in Iowa Sculptures by Vinnie Ream Sculptures of men in Iowa Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. Statues in Iowa Statues in Washington, D.C.