Four new bronze president sculptures are unveiled

By Scott Aust, Journal staff | Sunday, October 19, 2008

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Four more presidential statues -- Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant and William McKinley -- were unveiled during a ceremony Saturday at the Elks Theater and will take their places on corners in downtown Rapid City in the next week or two.

The four new bronze sculptures bring the number of statues in the City of Presidents project to 35. Organizers plan to have all 43 past U.S. presidents displayed in bronze downtown by 2010.

Begun in 2000, the City of Presidents project started with the first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, and the last two presidents at the time, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Every year, four artists -- Lee Leuning, John Lopez, James Maher and James Van Nuys -- research a president and try to create a bronze figure that captures the essence of the president and his place in history.

Don Perdue, founder of the projects, thanked all the donors who have helped make the statues possible. He said without the donors, the project, which uses no tax dollars, would not have been possible.

"I feel very indebted to all the people who have put their hands in their back pockets and pulled out their wallet or checkbook and wrote us a significant check," Perdue said. "We can always say, 'Gee, whiz. What a great idea.' But there is no idea unless there's funding for it. I really can't say enough about the people who have made this idea work."

The sculptors talked about how they made each statue unique:

* Andrew Johnson, who served from 1865-1869, was the 17th president, succeeding Abraham Lincoln after Lincoln's assassination. Johnson was one of two presidents to be impeached (Clinton was the other, and neither man was convicted by the Senate). Sculptor Van Nuys said his piece depicts Johnson holding a map with the country in two pieces, as it was handed to him, and with his head turned toward his left hand holding the southern states to signify Johnson's southern heritage.

"He would have been perfectly happy to leave the country as it was, slavery and all, but he believed very strongly in the Union and felt it had to be kept together," Van Nuys said.

* Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president, is the only one to have served two nonconsecutive terms, from 1885-1889 and from 1893-1897. Sculptor Maher said Cleveland was known for honesty and integrity. Maher's sculpture depicts Cleveland seated with a book open in his right hand to signify Cleveland's main passion outside of work: being in his library.

* Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-1877, was the 18th president after leading union forces in the Civil War. To reflect his military leadership, sculptor Lopez depicts Grant in his uniform and sword, standing with one hand holding a cigar and the other hand on a pedestal that bears the names and dates of major battles.

"It's a little bit of history for people to look at when they walk by," Lopez said. "He was a drinker and a smoker. One story that's been told is officials complaining to Lincoln about Grant's drinking, and Lincoln said, 'Get a bottle of whatever he's drinking to all my other generals.'"

* William McKinley, the 25th president, 1897-1901, died during his second term a week after being shot by an assassin. Sculptor Leuning said McKinley was the first president to campaign using the telephone, so his bronze portrays the president with a phone of the era held to his ear. McKinley was also a dapper man who always wore a white carnation in his lapel, Leuning said. But to commemorate the assassination, Leuning included a red carnation.

McKinley and Grant will be installed at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20, at the intersection of Main and Fourth streets, Grant on the northwest corner and McKinley on the southeast corner.

Cleveland will be placed at the northeast corner of St. Joseph and Fourth streets, with installation tentatively scheduled for Monday as well, although it may be delayed.

Johnson will be installed at the southwest corner of Sixth and St. Joseph streets at a date to be determined. Until then, the statue can be viewed at James Van Nuys's gallery, 524 Seventh St.

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com