Stephen Roberts
Stephen Roberts was born in Omaha in 1952. He Graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and began his career in New York City.
In 1989, The unicameral created an art commission to complete the murals for the Memorial Chamber. Roberts was one of three finalists and the only one from Nebraska. As a part of the national contest, the art commission requested a number of themes and concepts it wanted to be included in each piece. Roberts chose a more focused approach and zeroed in on one specific idea for each portrait.
He also made it a point to include real people from Nebraska and history in each of his pieces.
The eight murals were installed in the Memorial chamber on Veteran’s day of 1996 – 74 years to the day from when the cornerstone to the Capitol was laid.
the Mural Selection Process
Nebraska Public Media produced a documentary about how the final vision for the Memorial Chamber came to life, including interviews with Commissioners and Stephen Roberts.
