Massachusetts Senate Launches Art Committee to Select First Woman Sculpture and Diversify Symbols
Committee aims to make Senate art reflect residents, beginning with bust depicting a woman leader
(BOSTON—2/24/2025) Today, Senate President Karen E. Spilka announced the membership of the Senate Art Committee, a group of Senators and arts leaders who will be tasked with making the art and symbols in the Senate more representative of the residents of the Commonwealth.
Chaired by Senator Julian Cyr, the first charge of the Committee will be to select a woman to honor with a statue in the Senate Chamber. The selection will be made from nominations submitted by Massachusetts residents last year.
Members of the committee will be sworn in during a public meeting at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, in Room 222 of the State House, and will subsequently begin reviewing submissions from the public for the sculpture and examining ways to diversify art in the Senate.
“Whether by accident or design, the contributions of women who have shaped our Commonwealth and nation have long been absent from State House art,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Today, the Senate is committing to ensuring that the symbols in the halls of power change to reflect those women and sending a clear message to every woman who walks our halls: you belong here. I am deeply grateful to Senator Cyr for leading this effort, and to each of the committee members for lending their expertise and leadership to a Senate that strives for better representation.”
“Now more than ever, the art that adorns the halls of the State House should reflect who we are as a Commonwealth and embody the values of Massachusetts,” said Senator Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands). “Yet, as I come and go from my office, I often remark that the portraits, murals, and sculptures in our Capitol do not encompass the richness of our history and the diversity of those who built our Commonwealth. I am thrilled and honored to lead a renewed Senate Art Committee, one that will work to expand inclusivity and representation in the art that beautifies the State House. As an LGBTQ+ person, I understand how powerful it can be to see people like yourself represented in spaces of power. As we solicit submissions for a sculpture of a trailblazing woman to join the all-male busts in the Senate chamber, I am eager to see the remarkable women that will be put forward for consideration. I remain grateful for Senate President Spilka’s vision and persistence to realize a Senate that embraces a more complete story of Massachusetts.”
Once selected, the bust would be the first to depict a woman to be in the Senate Chamber and will take a permanent place alongside Douglass, Washington, Franklin, and others.
It will be only the third piece of art in the Senate honoring a woman leader, joining portraits of Abigail Adams and former Senate President Therese Murray, and the twenty-second permanent piece of art honoring a woman in the State House.
Once chosen, the sculpture will watch over a chamber that is led by a woman, in which more than a quarter of members are women, where women staff work, and where thousands of women come each year as advocates, students, and sightseers.
This milestone comes as women hold more elected positions in Massachusetts than ever before, including Senate President, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, U.S. Senator, three Congresswomen, and the Mayor of Boston.
The Senate Art Committee will include:
Senator Julian Cyr, Chair
Senator Bruce Tarr, Senate Minority Leader
Senator Lydia Edwards
Senator Pavel Payano
L’Merchie Frazier, Art Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Lydia Hartigan, Peabody Essex Museum
Susan Cross, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Maggie Scott, Museum of Fine Arts
The announcement is the latest step in Senate President Spilka’s effort to expand representation in the State House and comes on the heels of last year’s installment of Frederick Douglass’ bust in the Senate Chamber, and the addition of a portrait of Abigail Adams in the Senate Lobby.
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