Las Vegas Sun

April 25, 2024

Winnemucca sculpture chosen

CARSON CITY -- A South Dakota man has been selected to create a larger-than-life bronze sculpture of Indian standard-bearer Sarah Winnemucca to represent Nevada in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall in Washington.

The selection committee Wednesday chose Benjamin Victor, a 25-year-old student at Northern State University in South Dakota. Victor lived in Las Vegas for 18 months but then moved to South Dakota to pursue his art studies.

The finalists for the job were Sarah Sweetwater of Elko, Gareth Curtiss of Olympia, Wash., Ed Dwight of Denver and Victor of Aberdeen, S.D.

The selection was made after a day of presentations by the artists.

Victor's sculpture has Winnemucca holding a book in her left hand while offering her namesake shellflower as a token of peace in her right. Her hair and dress are windswept.

The figure is about 7 feet tall, smaller than most currently in Statuary Hall. Completion of the statue is expected in the spring of 2005.

Each state has two statues in the hall except for Nevada, which has one -- that of Sen. Pat McCarran.

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