During a ceremony in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning a new bronze sculpture of Nebraska writer and Red Cloud native Willa Cather was dedicated at the U-S Capitol.
Every state gets to display two sculptures in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Cather’s sculpture joins Ponca Chief Standing Bear, which was installed in 2019. Artist Littleton Alston designed the statue.
Governor Jim Pillen was joined by U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, Senator Deb Fischer and Representatives Don Bacon, Mike Flood and Adrian Smith for the dedication of the new statue.
“Willa Cather epitomizes Nebraska values we hold so dearly, a focus on family, a love of learning, the power of our experiences to shape us, and optimism for the future,” Ricketts says. “When I was Governor, I had the privilege of signing legislation to change Nebraska’s statues and honor two tremendous Nebraskans: Chief Standing Bear and Willa Cather. Today, as U.S. Senator, I am humbled to see that process come to fruition as we welcome the arrival of Willa Cather’s statue.”
Cather is the first Pulitzer Prize winner and the twelfth woman represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection.
