Breaking the bronze ceiling: Downtown site selected for monument honoring women

A community-wide effort to erect a monument in downtown Lexington honoring the achievements of women gained momentum Monday, when the site of the monument was announced.

The monument will be in front of the Financial Center, often called the “Big Blue” building, at the corner of Vine and Mill streets. The site was donated by The Webb Companies, which owns the building.

Four artists have been selected as finalists out of 120 who responded to a request for proposals, Mayor Linda Gorton said Monday during a news conference.

The site, in front of one of Lexington’s most visible and well-known buildings, was appropriate, she said.

“A prominent monument in front of a prominent building,” Gorton said.

The goal is to have the monument in place by August 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

“It’s the right time to do the right thing,” said Jennifer Mossotti, a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman who has spear-headed fundraising for the effort. “Our mission is simple — honor the past, inform the present and inspire future generations of young boys and girls that 51 percent of the population must have a hand in shaping history.”

Mossotti’s quest to get a statue honoring a woman erected in downtown started nearly two years ago after reading an article in Time Magazine in 2017. The article said “fewer than 7 percent of 5,193 monuments in the United States presently recognized women and their historical achievements,” Mossotti said Monday.

She didn’t have to go far to find proof. In downtown Lexington, there was a statue of a camel, a plaque commemorating a dog, and lots of horse statues but no statue or monument honoring the achievements of women.

“I asked myself ‘Where are the women?’ That was the start of the Breaking the Bronze Ceiling campaign,” Mossotti said.

The absence of a monument recognizing a woman was particularly startling since Lexington has a long history of trail-blazing women, Mossotti said.

Gorton is the third woman to be elected mayor of Kentucky’s second-largest city. She follows former mayors Pam Miller and Teresa Isaac. State Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine also spoke Monday. Goodwine was the first black woman to be elected to the bench in Fayette County in 1999.

Goodwine said the monument is more than just a reminder of Lexington’s history. It will honor and remind people of the ongoing fight for equality. The fight for women’s right to vote did not end in 1920 with the passage of the 19th amendment. It wasn’t until 1964, with passage of the Civil Rights Act, that black women got the right to vote, she said.

“Women have worked hard to have that opportunity to lead,” Goodwine said. “We know the power we can harness working together for the greater good.”

Former Gov. Martha Layne Collins, the only woman to be elected governor in Kentucky, also spoke at the announcement.

“I’ve always believed we must have women involved in all levels of business and government because women think of things men don’t. Just as men think of things women don’t,” Collins said. “This statue honoring the accomplishments of women is overdue.”

Dudley Webb, chairman and co-founder of The Webb Companies, said he has been inspired by many women in his life, including his wife, daughter and the women he works with. Webb said he also owes a great debt to Collins, who is his mother-in-law.

Webb said the location is particularly appropriate since the future Town Branch Trail is slated to go in front of the Vine Street entrance of the Financial Center.

“It’s a prominent place where many citizens and visitors will have an opportunity to enjoy the monument,” he said.

Who will the monument honor?

The four artists have come up with their own designs, which will be unveiled in late September. The public will be able to view some of the proposals and who those artist choose to honor at that time, organizers said Monday.

But the group still needs more donations. To date, it has raised a little less than $250,000 of the $500,000 needed for the sculpture.

Councilwoman Kathy Plomin, vice chairwoman of the Breaking the Bronze Ceiling Committee and fundraising chairwoman, urged the crowd Tuesday to donate at https//breakingthebronzeceiling.com.

The four finalists are:

▪ Vinnie Bagwell. A sculptor since 1997, Bagwell has received commissions for statues honoring Ella Fitzgerald, Sojourner Truth and Welford Sanders.

▪ Jane DeDecker. She has been a sculptor for 35 years and has made more than 175 public sculptures in 33 states, including likenesses of Harriet Tubman, Emily Dickinson and Amelia Earhart.

▪ Cliff Garten. He has completed more than 50 sculptures in the U.S. and Canada. His civic sculptures have been named best in the nation by The Americans for the Arts Public Art Network.

▪ Barbara Grygrutis. She has completed more than 75 public art works across the country. In addition to permanent public art installations, Grygrutis’ work has been exhibited at The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and in several other museums.

This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 2:46 PM.