The State House’s Independent Man is Back
The 800-plus-pound statue was recently grounded after the discovery of a crack in his pedestal late last year.
Photo by Wolf Matthewson
For more than a century, the Independent Man has stood high atop the State House, a symbol of hope and freedom for all who walk below — that is, until a cracked pedestal grounded him late last year. The 800-plus-pound statue — originally conceived as a woman in an architectural drawing by McKim, Mead and White — was designed by artist George Brewster and cast in bronze by the Gorham Manufacturing Company before its installation in 1899. Among those who visited during his December sojourn inside the State House was Sharon Bast, whose great-grandfather worked on the statue as an ironworker for Gorham in the 1890s.
“I was just happy to be next to something that my great-grandfather had made. To see it up close was nice, because it’s part of history,” she says. Family lore recalls how her great-grandfather was later fired and blacklisted by the company for attempting to unionize its employees, but Bast sees the principles he stood for alive in the statue today. “I think he’d be proud of that, knowing that even though he’s not here, I’m standing up for him and making sure he gets some recognition,” she says.
Originally covered in gold leaf, the statue was plated in gold during a previous conservation in the 1970s. And now, the refurbished statue is heading back home and will be available for up-close viewing just in time for Rhode Island Independence Day on Saturday, May 4.
“As promised, I want to make sure that Rhode Islanders have another chance to see the Independent Man up close and experience an exciting part of Rhode Island history before the statue returns to its perch later this year,” says Governor Dan McKee. “He has his shine back, and I have to say, he is looking sharp.”
Dressed in a new layer of gold leaf, the Independent Man will be on display as part of a State House Open House from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday. But this isn’t your only chance — the iconic statue will remain for public viewing during the State House’s regular weekday hours of operation throughout the summer. Once his replacement marble base — which will use Georgian marble from the original quarry — is finished in the fall, officials plant to place him back in his rightful place atop the State House.
