Meet the Artists

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Transcript

(Women) Artists: In Their Own Words

During the course of the past 10 weeks, this podcast traced the accomplishments of women in the art of the Capitol going back roughly 150 years. We saw the obstacles they had to overcome -- both as artists and as citizens. We’ve learned about the challenges they faced and the triumphs they achieved.

Our series began with a look at the earliest women to create sculptures for the Capitol Collection. In this final episode, we come to the present with the voices of the artists themselves. We hear from two women who made the most recent contributions: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows, sculptor of the Barry Goldwater Statue added to the National Statuary Hall Collection in 2015, and Artis Lane, sculptor of the Sojourner Truth Bust unveiled in the Capitol Visitor Center in 2009.

We asked these present-day artists about the process of creating a statue to stand in the Capitol and their experiences in the years leading up to these major commissions. We also wanted to know where their artistic work has taken them today.

Similar to the women in the past, both artists share insights into finding inspiration, learning their craft, and overcoming obstacles they faced because of their gender and, in Artis Lane’s case, her race.

We are honored to include their stories, told in their own words.

Guest Speakers (in order of appearance):

Deborah Copenhaver Fellows, sculptor of the Barry Goldwater Statue
Artis Lane, sculptor of the Sojourner Truth Bust
Audio Clips from the April 28, 2009, Sojourner Truth Statue Unveiling courtesy of the House Recording Studio

a woman with red hair and a red shirt looking at a bronze statue of a man with glasses Deborah Copenhaver Fellows with her model of Barry Goldwater.

Photo courtesy of Deborah Copenhaver Fellows

A woman with dark short hair in a black button down shirt sits next to her bronze statue of soujourner truth, an older woman wearing a bonnet and shawl

Artis Lane with her model of Sojourner Truth.

Photo courtesy of Artis Lane.

a woman in a black dress and heels stands next to her tall bronze statue of a man wearing glasses in a suit gesturing forward

Deborah Copenhaver Fellows with her statue of Barry Goldwater, given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Arizona in 2015.

Photo courtesy of Deborah Copenhaver Fellows.

five women in colorful suits look at a bronze statue of soujourner truth, a bronze bust of a woman wearing a bonnet and shawl

Artis Lane (far left) at the unveiling of her bust of Sojourner Truth on April 28, 2009 in the Capitol Visitor Center.

Sojourner Truth's bust is the first sculpture to honor an African American woman in the United States Capitol.

painting of a woman wearing a blue coat sitting on a blue bus looking out of the window Rosa Parks The Beginning
By Rosa Parks and Artis Lane

This painting by Artis Lane is one of her many works honoring Rosa Parks. Others include a bust on display at the National Portrait Gallery and the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Rosa Parks on June 15, 1999.

Image courtesy of Artis Lane

a person's signature on the bottom of a bronze statue

The signature of Deborah Copenhaver Fellows on her statue of Barry Goldwater. She discusses her signature and the use of an initial to represent her first name in this podcast episode.