Massachusetts Senate Launches Art Committee to Select
First Woman Sculpture and Diversify Symbols
Committee aims to make Senate art reflect residents,
beginning with bust depicting a woman leader
(BOSTON—2/24/2025) Today, Senate President Karen E.
Spilka announced the membership of the Senate Art Committee, a group of
Senators and arts leaders who will be tasked with making the art and symbols in
the Senate more representative of the residents of the Commonwealth.
Chaired by Senator Julian Cyr, the first charge of the
Committee will be to select a woman to honor with a statue in the Senate
Chamber. The selection will be made from nominations submitted by Massachusetts
residents last year.
Members of the committee will be sworn in during a public
meeting at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, in Room 222 of the
State House, and will subsequently begin reviewing submissions from the public
for the sculpture and examining ways to diversify art in the Senate.
“Whether by accident or design, the contributions of women
who have shaped our Commonwealth and nation have long been absent from State
House art,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Today, the
Senate is committing to ensuring that the symbols in the halls of power change
to reflect those women and sending a clear message to every woman who walks our
halls: you belong here. I am deeply grateful to Senator Cyr for leading this
effort, and to each of the committee members for lending their expertise and
leadership to a Senate that strives for better representation.”
“Now more than ever, the art that adorns the halls of the
State House should reflect who we are as a Commonwealth and embody the values
of Massachusetts,” said Senator Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands). “Yet,
as I come and go from my office, I often remark that the portraits, murals, and
sculptures in our Capitol do not encompass the richness of our
history and the diversity of those who built our Commonwealth. I am
thrilled and honored to lead a renewed Senate Art Committee, one that will work
to expand inclusivity and representation in the art that beautifies the State
House. As an LGBTQ+ person, I understand how powerful it can be to see people
like yourself represented in spaces of power. As we solicit submissions for a
sculpture of a trailblazing woman to join the all-male busts in the Senate
chamber, I am eager to see the remarkable women that will be put forward for
consideration. I remain grateful for Senate President Spilka’s vision and
persistence to realize a Senate that embraces a more complete story of
Massachusetts.”
Once selected, the bust would be the first to depict a woman
to be in the Senate Chamber and will take a permanent place alongside Douglass,
Washington, Franklin, and others.
It will be only the third piece of art in the Senate
honoring a woman leader, joining portraits of Abigail Adams and former Senate
President Therese Murray, and the twenty-second permanent piece of art honoring
a woman in the State House.
Once chosen, the sculpture will watch over a chamber that is
led by a woman, in which more than a quarter of members are women, where women
staff work, and where thousands of women come each year as advocates, students,
and sightseers.
This milestone comes as women hold more elected positions in
Massachusetts than ever before, including Senate President, Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, U.S. Senator, three Congresswomen, and the
Mayor of Boston.
The Senate Art Committee will include:
- Senator
Julian Cyr, Chair
- Senator
Bruce Tarr, Senate Minority Leader
- Senator
Lydia Edwards
- Senator
Pavel Payano
- L’Merchie
Frazier, Art Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Lydia
Hartigan, Peabody Essex Museum
- Susan
Cross, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
- Maggie
Scott, Museum of Fine Arts
The announcement is the latest step in Senate President
Spilka’s effort to expand representation in the State House and comes on the
heels of last year’s installment of Frederick Douglass’ bust in the Senate Chamber, and the addition of a portrait of Abigail Adams in the Senate Lobby.
