One of the University of Nebraska’s most famous alumni is back on campus.
A new bronze bust of Willa Cather — an 1895 NU graduate who went on to become an acclaimed author best known for novels that vividly portray frontier life on the Great Plains — is on permanent display on the second floor of Love Library North. The sculpture is a cast from the mold used to create the seven-foot statue of Cather that represents Nebraska in the National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Capitol sculpture was designed by Littleton Alston, a professor at Creighton University. The project included the production of a limited number of copies of the bust, one of which was purchased through the University Libraries and Cather Project, which is in UNL’s Department of English.
According to Andrew Jewell, chair of digital strategies in the University Libraries and co-chair of the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, the decision to obtain the sculpture was natural because the university is home to the Willa Cather Archive and the premier location for academic study of Cather. Jewell was excited to work with Alston to bring the bust to the University Libraries.
“I am very impressed with Alston’s sculpture and the thoughtful way he represented Cather as a vibrant, forceful person,” Jewell said. “The face in the sculpture, to me, captures a woman who is thinking critically and will not tolerate foolishness. I think that’s just right.”
The University Libraries wanted the sculpture to be readily accessible to visitors and worked with the artist to select the location on the second floor of Love Library North.
“Cather means so much to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and I’m very glad to have the sculpture where everyone in the community can see her face for themselves," Jewell said.
Alston is the first African American sculptor to have a statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The full-length sculpture of Willa Cather was unveiled June 7, 2023. Learn more about the sculpture and see detailed photos here.
