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Benjamin Victor (sculptor)

{{Short description|American sculptor}}

{{Infobox artist

| name = Benjamin Victor

| image =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1979|1|16}}

| birth_place = Bakersfield, California, United States

| alma_mater = Northern State University

| field = Sculpture

| website = {{URL|http://benjaminvictor.com/}}

}}

Benjamin Matthew Victor (b. Taft, California, January 16, 1979) is an American sculptor living and working in Boise, Idaho.{{cite news|url=http://www.northern.edu/Employees/Pages/default.aspx|title=NSU Employee Directory|publisher=Northern State University|access-date=2010-08-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825125524/http://www.northern.edu/Employees/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=2010-08-25}} He is the only living artist to have three works in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. {{Cite news|url=https://professorofpractice.boisestate.edu/benjaminvictor/biography/|title=Benjamin Victor Biography|work=Benjamin Victor, Professor of the Practice|access-date=2017-06-12|language=en-US}} He is currently sculpting his fourth statue for the Statuary Hall, of Daisy Bates. He was only 26 years old when his first statue, Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute activist in Nevada, was dedicated in the Hall in 2005, making him the youngest artist to ever be represented in the Hall.{{cite news|url=http://www.taftindependent.com/News/ViewArticle/894|title=Oilworkers Monument Groundbreaking|publisher=The Taft Independent|date=2009-04-03|access-date=2010-08-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315163032/http://www.taftindependent.com/News/ViewArticle/894|archive-date=2010-03-15}}{{cite news|url=http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=233240&|title=Reid Speech at Sarah Winnemucca Statue Dedication|publisher=Democrats.senate.gov|date=2005-05-09|access-date=2010-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817013448/https://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=233240&|archive-date=2010-08-17|url-status=dead}} In 2014, his sculpture of Norman Borlaug, "the father of the Green Revolution," was dedicated in the National Statuary Hall{{Cite news|url=https://www.aoc.gov/art/national-statuary-hall-collection/dr-norman-e-borlaug|title=Dr. Norman E. Borlaug|work=Architect of the Capitol {{!}} United States Capitol|access-date=2017-06-12|language=en}} and in 2019, his statue of Chief Standing Bear, a Native American rights leader, was dedicated in the National Statuary Hall making him the only living artist to have three sculptures in the Hall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/bakersfield-native-breaks-the-mold-with-third-statue-at-us-capitol/article_db88bdd0-c052-11e9-9a92-d352280efc06.html|title=Bakersfield native breaks the mold with third statue at US capitol|last=ARDIS|first=KELLY|website=The Bakersfield Californian|language=en|access-date=2020-04-17}}

Early life

Benjamin Matthew Victor was born in 1979 in Taft, California. He grew up in Bakersfield. After completing high school, he lived in for a time in Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, studying art and sculpture.{{cite news|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Feb-20-Fri-2004/news/23260793.html |title=Winnemucca sculptor selected

|publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=2004-02-10|access-date=2010-08-18}}

Career

Victor’s first work to receive attention was a life-size statue of the biblical character Samson, sculpted when the artist was a sophomore art major at Northern State University. The piece earned Victor a scholarship "in recognition of his aesthetic and conceptual integrity" from the prestigious National Sculpture Society in New York City. At age 23, Victor was commissioned to produce his proposal of a trio of soldiers for the Aberdeen Regional Airport War Memorial in South Dakota.

Victor has completed numerous commissions from city, institutions and non-profits for public artworks throughout the West and upper Midwest, often to commemorate individuals or groups. He was commissioned by the state of Nevada to make sculptures of Sarah Winnemucca, a 19th-century Paiute activist, one for installation in 2005 at its capitol and one to be installed as one of Nevada's official works in the United States Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C. At age 26, Victor was the youngest sculptor to have a work installed at the hall.

In 2016, Judi M. gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, contacted Victor about creating a statue of Standing Bear (Ponca) for the Centennial Mall at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.{{cite news |last1=Pluhacek |first1=Zach |title=Sculpture of Ponca Chief to Grace Centennial Mall |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-pluhacek-zach-scu/129210667/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |work=Lincoln Journal Star |date=December 2, 2016 |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |page=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-pluhacek-zach-scu/129210667/ B1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-pluhacek-zach-scu/129210737/ B2] |via=Newspapers.com}} It was installed in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Klein |first1=John |title=Statue of Ponca Chief May Be Headed to D.C. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-oklahoman-klein-john-statue/129211207/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |work=The Daily Oklahoman |date=April 30, 2018 |location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}} When gaiashkibos learned of a plan replace the two statues allotted for Nebraska in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D. C., she contacted Victor again to make another sculpture of Standing Bear.{{cite news |last1=Lange-Kubick |first1=Cindy |title=Chief Standing Bear Takes His Place in U.S. Capitol |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fremont-tribune-lange-kubick-cindy-chi/129212867/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |work=Fremont Tribune |agency=Lee Enterprises |date=September 20, 2019 |location=Fremont, Nebraska |page=A6 |via=Newspapers.com}} The installation of the statue in Statuary Hall was held in 2019, with gaiashkibos's daughter, Katie Brossy in attendance. Using the surplus funds from those raised to erect the Standing Bear statues, gaiashkibos hired Victor in 2021 to sculpt Susan La Flesche Picotte (Omaha), the first Native woman to be licensed as a physician in the US for the Centennial Mall at the university.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Riley |title=Statue of 1st Native Doctor Finds a Home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-johnson-riley-1st/129208794/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |work=Lincoln Journal Star |date=May 29, 2021 |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-johnson-riley-1st/129208794/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-johnson-riley-1st/129208888/ A2] |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite web |last1=Vanderford |first1=Taryn |title=Picotte Statue Unveiled |url=https://www.1011now.com/2021/10/11/picotte-statue-unveiled/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |website=1011 Now |publisher=KOLN |date=October 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427100532/https://www.1011now.com/2021/10/11/picotte-statue-unveiled/ |archive-date=April 27, 2023 |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |url-status=live}}

=Notable works=

  • Aberdeen Monument to Firefighters, Aberdeen Fire Department, Station #1, Aberdeen, South Dakota
  • [https://www.aberdeen.sd.us/93/War-Memorial Aberdeen War Memorial], Aberdeen Regional Airport, Aberdeen, South Dakota
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20180712184335/https://www.tempe.gov/city-hall/police/public-safety-memorial Answering the Call], Tempe Beach Park, Tempe, Arizona
  • Belle Babb Mansfield, monument to the First Female Attorney, Iowa Wesleyan College, Iowa{{cite news|url=http://www.heartlandconnection.com/community/press_release.aspx?id=126359|title=Belle Babb Mansfield Dedication|publisher=Heartland Connection|date=2008-04-25|access-date=2010-08-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917052439/http://www.heartlandconnection.com/community/press_release.aspx?id=126359|archive-date=2011-09-17}}
  • Bob Hoover, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/march/17/hoover-statue-joining-legends-shrike-at-smithsonian|title=Hoover statue to be unveiled at Smithsonian|date=2016-03-17|website=aopa.org|access-date=2017-06-12}}
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2015/03/gallery/cecil-harris-monument/ Cecil Harris], Northern State University, Aberdeen, South Dakota{{Cite news|url=https://www.northern.edu/cecil-harris|title=Cecil Harris|date=2016-11-17|work=Northern State University|access-date=2017-06-12|language=en}}
  • Chief Standing Bear, Centennial Mall, Lincoln, Nebraska{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/new-statue-in-centennial-mall-honors-chief-standing-bear/article_41ce4556-b29a-11e7-98cb-7fd9b4495cee.html|title=New statue in Centennial Mall honors Chief Standing Bear|last=Wells|first=Aaliyah|work=The Daily Nebraskan|access-date=2017-12-05|language=en}}
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2016/07/gallery/coach-jim-valvano-nc-state-basketball/ Coach Jim Valvano], North Carolina State Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2016/08/19/ncsu-to-unveil-valvano-statue-at-reynolds-gala.html|title=N.C. State University to unveil Jim Valvano statue at Reynolds Coliseum gala - Triangle Business Journal|website=bizjournals.com|access-date=2018-07-12}}
  • Christa McAuliffee, New Hampshire State House, Concord, New Hampshire.McCormack, Kathy. [https://apnews.com/article/christa-mcauliffe-statue-new-hampshire-challenger-5487cf9130e726ae7f01f55d9c1861ec "Christa McAuliffe, still pioneering, is first woman with a statue on New Hampshire capitol grounds"]. AP News. Published September 2, 2024. Accessed September 2, 2024.
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2016/07/gallery/coach-everett-case-nc-state-basketball/ Coach Everett Case], North Carolina State Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina{{Cite news|url=https://news.ncsu.edu/2013/01/in-this-corner/|title=In This Corner {{!}} NC State News {{!}} NC State University|date=2013-01-09|access-date=2018-07-12|language=en}}
  • Community, Wells Avenue, Reno, Nevada{{cite news|url=http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=46523|title=Wells-to-do|publisher=Reno News and Reviews|date=2006-01-26|access-date=2010-08-18}}
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2011/07/gallery/classical-figurative/delilah/ Delilah], Avenue of the Arts, Gillette, Wyoming
  • Dr. Norman E Borlaug, National Statuary Hall, Washington, DC
  • Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte, Centennial Mall, Lincoln, Nebraska{{Cite news|url=https://www.1011now.com/2021/10/11/picotte-statue-unveiled/|title=Picotte statue unveiled|work=1011 Now|access-date=2021-10-12|language=en}}
  • Falls Past and Falls Today, Gateway to the Falls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2016/08/gallery/monuments-large-works/gretchen-fraser/ Gretchen Fraser], Olympic Women's Monument, Sun Valley, Idaho
  • Independence, S. Wells Avenue and Roberts Street, Reno, Nevada
  • Kansas State Monument to Firefighters, Kansas State Capitol Building, Topeka, Kansas
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2016/09/gallery/lyle-smith/ Lyle Smith], Albertsons Stadium, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho{{Cite news|url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/bronco-beat-blog/article100624942.html|title=Boise State unveils statue of Lyle Smith; Dhaenens glad to increase production|work=idahostatesman|access-date=2018-07-12|language=en}}
  • Make a Wish Boy and Girl, Make a Wish Building, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  • Monument to 1st Battalion 1st Marines, Castaways Park, Newport Beach, California{{cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/news/curry-107119-war-statue.html|title=Statue honoring Marine Battalion Unveiled in Newport|publisher=The Orange County Register|date=2007-09-09|access-date=2010-08-18}}{{cite news|url=http://articles.dailypilot.com/2007-11-10/news/dpt-memorial10_1_soldier-newport-beach-granite-memorial|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708221541/http://articles.dailypilot.com/2007-11-10/news/dpt-memorial10_1_soldier-newport-beach-granite-memorial|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2011|title=Tribute To Be Semper Fi|publisher=Newport Beach Daily Pilot|date=2007-11-10|access-date=2010-08-18}}
  • Monument to Firefighters, Fire Station #5, Lawrence, Kansas
  • Monument to WWII Airmen, Boise Airport, Boise, Idaho{{cite news|url=http://www.fox12idaho.com/global/story.asp?S=10420107|title=New Statue At Boise Airport|publisher=Fox News Idaho|date=2009-05-25|access-date=2010-08-18}}
  • Portrait of Terry Redlin, Redlin Art Center, Redlin, South Dakota{{cite news|url=http://www.redlinart.com/news/sculptureunveiled/|title=Sculpture Unveiled on August 4, 2007|publisher=Redlin Art Center|date=2007-08-04|access-date=2010-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313211517/http://www.redlinart.com/news/sculptureunveiled/|archive-date=March 13, 2010|url-status=dead}}
  • ReTrac Corridor Sculpture Project, ReTrac Corridor, Reno, Nevada
  • Robert the Bruce, Private Collection, Linlithgow, Scotland
  • Samson, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Samson the Mighty, Avenue of the Arts, Gillette, Wyoming
  • Sarah Winnemucca, U.S. National Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C. and Nevada State Capitol Building, Carson City, Nevada
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2016/07/gallery/senator-richard-bryan/ Senator Richard Bryan], University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada
  • Sequoyah, Private Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • [https://benjaminvictor.com/2011/12/gallery/monuments-large-works/taft-monument-to-oilworkers/ Taft Oilworker Monument], Taft, CA{{Citation|last=Curt Elliott|title=Oilworker Monument in Taft CA|date=1969-12-31|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkQxWARG8hg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/xkQxWARG8hg |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-06-12}}{{cbignore}}
  • The Seasons, United Clinic, Aberdeen, South Dakota
  • War Memorial Sculpture, Aberdeen Regional Airport, South Dakota
  • Where Cultures Meet, California State University - Dominguez Hills, Carson, California
  • Alexander Hamilton, United States Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT (Gift by the Class of '63){{Cite news|url=https://www.theday.com/article/20181012/NWS01/181019780|title=Academy honors 'father of Coast Guard'|last=Elliot|first=Sean D.|date=12 October 2018|work=The Day}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/winnemucca.cfm Sarah Winnemucca Statue, U.S. Capitol for Nevada | AOC]
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223651/http://benjaminvictor.com/videos/ksfy_samson_interview.wmv
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223651/http://www.benjaminvictor.com/articles/scanned/Articles-012.pdf
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223712/http://www.benjaminvictor.com/articles/scanned/Articles-036.pdf
  • [http://www.benjaminvictor.com/ Ben Victor Studios], Official website
  • [https://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/bakersfield-native-breaks-the-mold-with-third-statue-at-us/article_db88bdd0-c052-11e9-9a92-d352280efc06.html Bakersfield native breaks the mold with third statue at US capitol]
  • http://benjaminvictor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LifeSizeSamsonTakingShapeatNSU11-26-2002.pdf

{{Benjamin Victor}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Benjamin}}

Category:1979 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Bakersfield, California

Category:People from Taft, California

Category:Sculptors from California

Category:21st-century American sculptors

Category:21st-century American male artists

Category:American male sculptors

Category:Northern State University alumni

Category:Boise State University faculty