What is the name of the large statue on the US Capital dome, and who was responsible for her creation?

BRY2K

The statue is called the "Statue of Freedom". It is sometimes called Armed Freedom or simply Freedom, is Thomas Crawford's bronze statue that, since 1863, has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The original and formal name of the work was Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace. Official United States publications say that the statue, "is officially known as the Statue of Freedom." Crawford was commissioned to design the Statue of Freedom in 1854 and executed the plaster model for the statue in his studio in Rome. He died in 1857 before the model left his studio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Freedom Jan 17 09, 6:15 PM

star_gazer

Very good. How did the plaster model then become bronze? Jan 17 09, 6:19 PM

BRY2K

To your supplementary Q, here is another excerpt from the same source that sheds some light: "Beginning in 1860, the statue was cast in five main sections by Clark Mills, whose bronze foundry was located on the outskirts of Washington. Work was halted in 1861 because of the Civil War, but by the end of 1862 the statue was finished and temporarily displayed on the Capitol grounds. While Freedom was being cast at Mills' foundry the foreman in charge of the casting went on strike. Instead of paying him the higher wages he demanded Mills turned the project over to Philip Reid, one of the slaves working at the facility. Reid presided over the rest of the casting and assembly of the figure". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Freedom Jan 17 09, 6:29 PM