Lewis Cass (French)
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''Lewis Cass'' is an 1889 marble sculpture by Daniel Chester French of
Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...
, a soldier, diplomat, and politician that the state of Michigan donated as their first statue to 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 Hal ...
in Washington, D.C., United States.


Description and history

French received the commission and decided to make the statue in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He dressed his figure, a "biography in stone", of the rather portly Cass in the swallow tailed coat popular in that time, and depicted him standing solidly with his weight evenly distributed on both legs. This stance was criticized in Paris as being an out-dated way to portray a subject, but French was more interested in the "benediction of approval" he received from American artist
George Peter Alexander Healy George Peter Alexander Healy (July 15, 1813 – June 24, 1894) was an American portrait painter. He was one of the most prolific and popular painters of his day, and his sitters included many of the eminent personages of his time. Born in Boston, ...
, who had been both a friend and the painter of a portrait of Cass. When French was finished producing his clay statue he had it carved in marble in Paris, a task that would take a year, before executing the final touches himself and then having the finished work shipped to the United States. There it was unveiled in the Capitol on February 18, 1889. At this event Michigan Senator Thomas Witherell Palmer said of Cass that he knew of "no public man who has filled so many places in the economy of life-teacher, explorer, negotiator of treaties, governor, pioneer, lawyer, legislator, marshal, soldier, diplomat Secretary of War, Senator, Secretary of State". On December 6, 2022, the
Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...
adopted a resolution, championed by State Senator Adam Hollier, to replace the Cass statue in the National Statuary Hall with a statue of Coleman Young, the first Black mayor of
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
.


See also

* 1889 in art * Public sculptures by Daniel Chester French


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Michigan, Visual arts, United States 1889 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1889 sculptures Marble sculptures in Washington, D.C. Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...
Sculptures by Daniel Chester French Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.