A bronze sculpture of Sarah Winnemucca by artist Benjamin Victor was installed at Hill Center North Business Park in Summerlin on Aug. 9.
The work will permanently sit at the entryway to the business park, standing before a convex rock wall surrounded by white benches. The original sculpture represents Nevada in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
Mark Fine, of Mark L. Fine & Associates, is managing partner of Hills Center Business Park II, LLC. He spearheaded the effort to obtain the sculpture.
"I've been involved with putting art in public places for the past 20 years, starting with the Seward Johnson sculptures in Green Valley," Fine said. "Each time, I try to create something that is meaningful. Sarah Winnemucca is recognized nationally as a woman of importance and putting her here ... has educational value."
Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute, was born around 1844 and was considered one of Nevada's earliest and foremost human rights advocates. Known as the first American Indian woman to read, write and speak English, she campaigned for the rights of her people and women and promoted education as a way to improve one's quality of life.
The Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in Lorenzi Park has an exhibit devoted to her.
The sculpture's creator, Victor was on hand for the unveiling at Hill Center North. He said other replicas of the one he made for National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C., were being placed in libraries, museums, sold to private collectors and place in public building
The Hill Park sculpture is number 10 of a planned 25 castings of the subject he refers to by first name.
"Hopefully, this will encourage kids to learn about Sarah," he said.
The Summerlin statue is three feet tall but the original sculpture in Washington, D.C., is twice that size.
Victor has other large pieces exhibited, like an abstract titled "Community" for a public building in Reno that is 14 feet tall. He is finishing another piece, depicting a firefighter, that is eight feet tall.
He is currently working on a sculpture of the first female attorney in the United States, Belle Babb Mansfield.
"It's neat to be working on (the Mansfield one) because it kind of ties in with Sarah," Victor said. "They're both great women in U.S. history."
Leroy Spotted Owl of the Paiute tribute and Kami Miller, chairwoman of the Mojave Tribe, were there to mark the unveiling. So was Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who said she's spoken at a lot of events honoring Sarah Winnemucca and "each one is special."
The sculpture in the U.S. Capitol is one of only four American Indian sculptures in the National Statuary Hall Collection and one of only two that depict American Indian women. The other is of Sacajawea.
Victor is the youngest artist ever to have a sculpture in the collection. He was 23 years old when the sculpture was commissioned by the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs and the Nevada Women's History Project.
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