William Ludwell Sheppard, a sculptor, created numerous well-known statues, including a bronze one of Governor William Smith located on the north side of Capitol Square in Richmond, "The Color-Bearer," a bronze haut-relief, the "Soldiers' and Sailors'" Monument and the Statue of General A. P. Hill—all located in Richmond.
Augustus Lukeman, a Richmonder who later moved to New York City, made the portrait bust of Jefferson Davis in the United States Capitol. A Norfolk native, William Couper, molded a bronze statue of Captain John Smith at Jamestown and a bronze statue of Dr. Hunter H. McGuire, a brilliant Winchester doctor, on the north side of Capitol Square in Richmond. He also designed a Norfolk Confederate Soldier Monument.
Many sculptors who were born outside of Virginia have used events and personalities of Virginia as their subjects. Charles Keck executed a bronze group of statues of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the two explorers of the Northwest, which may be seen at Charlottesville. Lewis and Clark are shown gazing at the horizon, with their famous woman guide, Sacajawea, not far behind them. At Monument Terrace in Lynchburg is another bronze statue designed by Keck, "Statue of a Doughboy," representing the forty-seven soldiers from Lynchburg killed in World War I. Keck also created the statue of John Tyler located in the Capitol Rotunda at Richmond.
There is a George Rogers Clark Memorial in Charlottesville designed by Robert Aitken. It consists of a bronze equestrian statue of George Rogers Clark surrounded by a group of Indians and scouts.
Six statues depicting the Virginia-born Presidents of the United States found in the Capitol Rotunda are "William Henry Harrison" carved by Charles Beach, "Woodrow Wilson" by Harriet Frishmuth, "James Monroe" and "Thomas Jefferson" by Attilio Piccirilli and "James Madison" and "Zachary Taylor" by F. William Sievers.
Piccirilli also created a 16-foot marble "Statue of Monroe" located at the entrance of Ash Lawn, the home of James Monroe, near Charlottesville. An interesting fact about this statue is that, after the government of Venezuela had commissioned Piccirilli to create this statue of Monroe, a revolution occurred in Venezuela which caused a new slate of officials to succeed in office. Since some of these officials were not pro-Monroe in their regard for the Monroe Doctrine, the statue remained in a studio in New York City from the latter part of the 1800's until 1931. Sievers also designed the bronze figure of "Stonewall" Jackson astride his horse, Little Sorrel, for the "Stonewall" Jackson Monument on Monument Avenue in Richmond.
Sculptural contributions of Thomas Crawford and Randolph Rogers, both New Yorkers, may be found in Capitol Square, Richmond. The Washington Monument here is considered an outstanding sculptural group. Robert Mills designed the base and pedestal. The monument depicts a bronze equestrian statue of George Washington on a stone base surrounded by huge figures of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, General Andrew Lewis, John Marshall, George Mason and Thomas Nelson. Female figures are seated on trophies of victory around the base of the monument. All the figures were created by Crawford except Lewis and Nelson which were created by Rogers after Crawford had died.
Virginians were encouraged to appreciate the Fine Arts even as early as 1786 when a Frenchman, Chevalier de Beaurepaire, founded in Richmond the Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts of the United States of America. This organization marked the formal beginning of Richmond as a cultural center in Virginia. In 1936, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond became the first state-supported art museum in the United States. At present, the Museum Building, its equipment and the salaries of the staff are provided by the Commonwealth; other sources of revenue come from endowments, gifts, membership, rental and admission fees. There are numerous traveling exhibitions, slide sets, films and filmstrips, permanent famous art collections, temporary loan exhibits and an Art-mobile equipped with a comprehensive art display which travels to specific areas on a scheduled basis. There is also a Museum Theater where a variety of performances in the Fine Arts including the dance, music, drama and motion pictures is presented.
In 1913, the Battle Abbey was constructed in Richmond. It is noted for its large wall murals painted by the French artist, Charles Hoffbauer and portraying the key battles of the War between the States. Battle Abbey also includes valuable collections of paintings of Confederate leaders, of battle flags and of military weapons used during the War between the States.
The White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, known also as the Confederate Museum, is the beautiful old Brockenbrough Mansion leased for the home of Jefferson Davis and his family during the War between the States. In 1893, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society established the house as a Confederate historical museum. Such historical treasures as the sword of Robert E. Lee, military equipment of "J. E. B." Stuart, T. J. Jackson and Joseph E. Johnston and individual sections housing battle mementoes of each Confederate State are located in this structure.