Benjamin Matthew Victor (b. Taft, California, January 16, 1979) is an American sculptor living and working in Boise, Idaho. He is the only living artist to have three works in the

National Statuary Hall The National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the ...

in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

. He is currently sculpting his fourth statue for the Statuary Hall, of Daisy Bates. He was only 26 years old when his first statue, ''

Sarah Winnemucca Sarah (née Winnemucca) Hopkins ( – October 17, 1891) was a Northern Paiute writer, activist, lecturer, teacher, and school organizer. Her Northern Paiute name was Thocmentony, also spelled Tocmetone, which translates as " Shell Flower." Sara ...

,'' a

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three languages do not form a single subgroup and th ...

activist in Nevada, was dedicated in the Hall in 2005, making him the youngest artist to ever be represented in the Hall. In 2014, his

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Norman Borlaug Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple ...

, "the father of the Green Revolution," was dedicated in the National Statuary Hall and in 2019, his statue of Chief Standing Bear, a Native American rights leader, was dedicated in the National Statuary Hall making him the only living artist to have three sculptures in the Hall.

Early life

Benjamin Matthew Victor was born in 1979 in Taft,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He grew up in

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

. After completing high school, he lived in for a time in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. He attended

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota, United States. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional prog ...

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen () is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,495. making it the third-most populous city in the state. Aberdeen is home of Northern State University. ...

, studying art and sculpture.

Career

Victor’s first work to receive attention was a life-size statue of the biblical character

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

, sculpted when the artist was a sophomore art major at

. The piece earned Victor a scholarship "in recognition of his aesthetic and conceptual integrity" from the prestigious

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding member ...

in New York City. At age 23, Victor was commissioned to produce his proposal of a trio of soldiers for the

Aberdeen Regional Airport Aberdeen Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) east of the central business district of Aberdeen, a city in Brown County, South Dakota, United States. It is mostly used for general aviation ...

War Memorial in South Dakota. Victor has completed numerous commissions from city, institutions and non-profits for public artworks throughout the West and upper Midwest, often to commemorate individuals or groups. He was commissioned by the state of

to make sculptures of

, a 19th-century

activist, one for installation in 2005 at its capitol and one to be installed as one of Nevada's official works in the United States Statuary Hall in the

United States Capitol Building The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in ...

, Washington, D.C. At age 26, Victor was the youngest sculptor to have a work installed at the hall. In 2016,

Judi M. gaiashkibos Judi M. gaiashkibos (born 1953) is a Ponca-Dakota people, Santee administrator, who has been the executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs since 1995. According to journalist John Mabry, her surname "is pronounced 'gosh-key ...

, executive director of the

Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs The Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs is a state commission, appointed by the Governor of Nebraska to defend the interest of Indigenous peoples and cultures in the State of Nebraska. The current executive director is Judi gaiashkibos. The co ...

, contacted Victor about creating a statue of

Standing Bear Standing Bear (–1908) (Omaha-Ponca language, Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was ...

(Ponca) for the Centennial Mall at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. It was installed in 2017. When gaiashkibos learned of a plan replace the two statues allotted for Nebraska in the

in Washington, D. C., she contacted Victor again to make another sculpture of Standing Bear. The installation of the statue in Statuary Hall was held in 2019, with gaiashkibos's daughter, Katie Brossy in attendance. Using the surplus funds from those raised to erect the Standing Bear statues, gaiashkibos hired Victor in 2021 to sculpt

Susan La Flesche Picotte Susan La Flesche Picotte (June 17, 1865 – September 18, 1915) was a Native American medical doctor and reformer and member of the Omaha tribe. She is widely acknowledged as one of the first Indigenous people, and the first Indigenous woman, t ...

(Omaha), the first Native woman to be licensed as a physician in the US for the Centennial Mall at the university.

Notable works

*''Aberdeen Monument to Firefighters'', Aberdeen Fire Department, Station #1,

*
Aberdeen War Memorial
', Aberdeen Regional Airport, Aberdeen, South Dakota *
Answering the Call
', Tempe Beach Park, Tempe, Arizona *''Belle Babb Mansfield'', monument to the First Female Attorney,

Iowa Wesleyan College Iowa Wesleyan University was a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. It was Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution was affiliated ...

, Iowa *''Bob Hoover'', Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC *
Cecil Harris
',

, Aberdeen, South Dakota *''Chief Standing Bear'', Centennial Mall, Lincoln, Nebraska *
Coach Jim Valvano
', North Carolina State Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina * ''Christa McAuliffee'',

New Hampshire State House The New Hampshire State House, located in Concord at 107 North Main Street, is the state capitol building of New Hampshire. The capitol houses the New Hampshire General Court, Governor, and Executive Council. The building was constructed o ...

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

. *
Coach Everett Case
', North Carolina State Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina *''Community'', Wells Avenue,

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

*
Delilah
', Avenue of the Arts,

Gillette, Wyoming Gillette (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, jih-LET'') is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The town was founded in 1891 as a major railway town on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The po ...

* '' Dr. Norman E Borlaug'', National Statuary Hall, Washington, DC *''Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte'', Centennial Mall, Lincoln, Nebraska *''Falls Past and Falls Today'', Gateway to the Falls,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

*
Gretchen Fraser
', Olympic Women's Monument, Sun Valley, Idaho *''Independence'', S. Wells Avenue and Roberts Street,

*''Kansas State Monument to Firefighters'', Kansas State Capitol Building,

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

*
Lyle Smith
', Albertsons Stadium, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho *''Make a Wish Boy and Girl,'' Make a Wish Building, Sioux Falls, South Dakota *''Monument to 1st Battalion 1st Marines'', Castaways Park,

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

*''Monument to Firefighters'', Fire Station #5,

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

*''Monument to WWII Airmen'',

Boise Airport Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States in Idaho, south of downtown Boise in Ada County. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation, overseen ...

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

*''Portrait of Terry Redlin'', Redlin Art Center, Redlin, South Dakota *''ReTrac Corridor Sculpture Project'', ReTrac Corridor,

*''Robert the Bruce'', Private Collection,

Linlithgow, Scotland Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

*''Samson'',

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

*''Samson the Mighty'', Avenue of the Arts,

*''

'', U.S. National Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C. and Nevada State Capitol Building,

Carson City, Nevada Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,63 ...

*
Senator Richard Bryan
', University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada *''Sequoyah'', Private Collection,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

*
Taft Oilworker Monument
', Taft, CA *''The Seasons'', United Clinic,

*''War Memorial Sculpture'', Aberdeen Regional Airport, South Dakota *''Where Cultures Meet'', California State University - Dominguez Hills,

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

*''Alexander Hamilton,''

United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...

, New London, CT (Gift by the Class of '63)

References

External links

Sarah Winnemucca Statue, U.S. Capitol for Nevada , AOC
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223651/http://benjaminvictor.com/videos/ksfy_samson_interview.wmv *https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223651/http://www.benjaminvictor.com/articles/scanned/Articles-012.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223712/http://www.benjaminvictor.com/articles/scanned/Articles-036.pdf
Ben Victor Studios
Official website

*http://benjaminvictor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LifeSizeSamsonTakingShapeatNSU11-26-2002.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Benjamin 1979 births Living people People from Bakersfield, California People from Taft, California Sculptors from California 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists American male sculptors Northern State University alumni Boise State University faculty