On the left side of the relief, a woman sits on an eagle throne in front of the United States Capitol. She holds a stack of papers out to a group of 4 individuals to the right. In the center, a pioneer woman holding corn and wearing a buffalo robe presents the 37th star for the US flag. Next to her, a civil war veteran holds an American flag with 36 stars. Behind them, pioneer farmers stand in anticipation.
Nebraska was officially made a state on March 1, 1867. Did you know that it was made a state over a presidential veto?
The exterior reliefs of the Capitol depict the history of western civilization. The Nebraska State Capitol is clad in Indiana Limestone.
About Lee Lawrie
Lee Lawrie was born in Germany in 1877 and came to America with his family four years later. As a young boy, he sketched the world around him and it became apparent he had great artistic talent. His first formal job as an artist came at 14 when he was hired in a sculptor’s studio to do odd jobs. It was at this job he taught himself how to model clay in the evenings. He would eventually attend Yale where he earned a bachelor’s of fine arts. He stayed at Yale where he taught until 1919.
Lawrie and Bertram Goodhue met in the late 1800s when the two began collaborating on various projects. Lawrie specialized in architectural sculpture, which was a direct compliment to Goodhue’s appreciation of early Gothic revival designs. The two would achieve a breakthrough in their approach during the construction of the Nebraska State Capitol. They created an approach that fused architecture and sculpture into an integrated and simple design.
