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Title
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George Mason Statue Design Approved
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Date
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December 11, 1992
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Language
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English
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Rights Holder
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George Mason University
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Abstract
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"Wendy Ross, a local sculptor, was chosen by the George Mason Statue Committee to sculpt a statue of the university's namesake that will be placed next to the planned University Center. The center is a combination library and student union complex near Robinson and King halls.
The committee, a group of students chaired by Barrington White, Jr., and advised by James Fletcher, associate provost and dean for Undergraduate Studies, approved a model by Ross earlier this semester. Plans are now under way [to] raise funds for erecting the statue.
The clay maquette, or model, submitted by Ross is 18 inches tall, and a cast will be made [of] bronze this spring. The composition depicts Mason just risen from his chair standing [with] his left foot forward and holding a document, Virginia's Declaration of Rights, [with] his extended left arm. His right is [leaning] on a table that serves as a support. The Bronze statue will be 10 feet tall. The [expected] cost of erecting the statue is $210,000. [Donations] are expected to have a donors' corner next to the University Center where contributors will have their names inscribed in a brick sidewalk. The […] student group to contribute was Chi Omega Fraternity, which gave $300.
Before designing her model of the statue, Ross did rigorous research to formulate her concept of patriot George Mason. "Creating a likeness of George Mason was an engaging and challenging process, similar to that undertaken by an archaeologist," says Ross.
While many people are familiar with the painting of Mason completed in 1811, which apparently shows Mason at 30 years of age, the artist's concept was to portray the Virginian at about 50 years of age in 1776. "This was the period he was the most influential," says Ross.
She also visited Gunston Hall, George Mason's home, where the curator showed her the actual clothing worn by Mason. She likewise visited Williamsburg, because "in creating a portrait, I never rely on one source to capture the subject," explains Ross.
The artist used three themes for her design concept: George Mason the scholar, the statesman, and the landowner. "I knew I wanted the axis of energy in the figure to be forward movement culminating in a gesture symbolic of handing this important document over to the viewer.
Books on the table supporting Mason's figure have the names of Enlightenment thinkers as Hume, Locke, and Rousseau, "who inspired Mason to create the state's Declaration of Rights, which formed the basis for the United States' Bill of Rights," says Ross."
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Bibliographic Citation
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"George Mason Statue Design Approved." 11 December1992. The Mason Gazette, Box 81 (90). George Mason University List of University and Student Publications. Special Collections Research Center. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.
