Daisy Gatson Bates by Benjamin Victor Headed for Statuary Hall, Washington, DC

Benjamin Victor, NSS is currently at work on a monument of civil rights activist, Daisy Gatson Bates for the the Statuary Hall in Washington, DC. Gates was an American civil rights activist, publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957. The sculpture will represent Arkansas in the country’s capitol and is replacing one of two previous portraits of Arkansas representatives,  Uriah Milton Rose and James Paul Clarke, which have since fallen out of favor with the public.  The other statue will be of singer/songwriter Johnny Cash to be sculpted by Kevin Kresse.  A documentary on the selection, creation and installation of the new statues will be produced by Arkansas PBS and the sculptures are set for installation in late 2022.

Benjamin Victor, NSS, with the clay version of Daisy Gatson Bates.