''Benjamin Harrison'' is a bust by

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artist Richard Peglow, located in the north atrium on the second floor of the

Indiana Statehouse The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials. The Statehouse is located i ...

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, United States. The bust is cast in bronze and depicts President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

. The bust is placed in front of a grey and black marble shield with six stars tracing around the edge of the shape. The bust and shield are approximately wide by high and has a depth of . The artwork was cast and placed in the statehouse in 2008 in accordance with Indiana code Section 2. IC 4-20.5-6-12.

Description

The artwork consists of three pieces: a bronze bust, a black granite shield and a limestone base. The bust is tall by wide (shoulder to shoulder) and has a depth of . The entire sculpture has a height of with a width of and a depth of . The bust depicts the 23rd

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, Benjamin Harrison. He is wearing his favorite overcoat and has a full beard. The only word present on the bust, Harrison, is on a bronze banner across the top of the granite shield. The shield is black Indian granite, the black polished edges showcasing the sandblasted gray interior. The six stars along the right and left flanks represent the six states (

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) that entered the Union while Harrison was in office, more states than any other president. The shield design was inspired by Harrison's 1888 campaign slogan "Protection and Reciprocity" and also recalls the shape of the Indiana state tree, the

tulip tree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

. The sculpture was made in the artist's studio in Kirklin, Indiana, and cast in bronze at the SinCerus Bronze Art Center in Indianapolis.

Historical information

The bust was commissioned by the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Sena ...

in 2007 in House Bill 1818, which also commissions artwork based on the contributions of African Americans to be placed in the statehouse. The bill "requires the department to commission a bust of President Benjamin Harrison for display in the state capitol. Requires the department to consult with the historical bureau and the arts commission on the design of the bust. Requires the approval of the legislative council before the bust is placed in the state capitol." The sponsors of the bill were Representatives V. Smith, M. Murphy, C. Brown; and Senators J. Merritt, E. Rogers, S. Smith, B. Breaux, and G. Howard. The artist, Richard Peglow, is an Indiana native, having been born and raised in La Port, Indiana. He has studied at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, Herron School of Art,

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, and

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

. The bust was placed in the Indiana statehouse on November 18, 2008, and the great-great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison, Kimball Morsman, was in attendance. Indiana Governor

Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American Academic administration, academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican Party (United ...

gave a speech in which he expressed surprise that a bust of Benjamin Harrison has not been placed in the statehouse before. A more critical voice has raised the question as to why the Indiana General Assembly had to be involved in such a project at all. Matthew Tully of the

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork of ...

mentioned the bust while examining other, "laws that will in no way reshape the way we all go about our daily lives". Tully had no problem with Benjamin Harrison or with putting a bust of the former president in the statehouse. Rather, he asked "Do we really need a law for this?"

References

External links

Indiana General Assembly Archives

Channel 13 Eyewitness News Story on Dedication

{{Benjamin Harrison 2008 sculptures Benjamin Harrison Bronze sculptures in Indiana Busts of presidents of the United States Indiana Statehouse Public Art Collection Harrison, Benjamin Sculptures of men in Indiana