Today, Monday, June 10, 2019, at 11:30 am the Wisconsin Historical Foundation will unveil the 2019 State Capitol Ornament during a press conference in the Assembly Room at the State Capitol.

The 2019 ornament is a tribute to the centennial celebration of Wisconsin’s Suffrage (1919-2019) and the famous “Forward” sculpture which presides in front of the entrance of the West Wing of the State Capitol. The “Forward” sculpture was created by Jean Pond Miner, who was born in 1865 in Menasha WI and grew up in the Madison area. She graduated from Downer College in Fox Lake and continued her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Miner’s granddaughter, Helen Coburn Meier will also be speaking at the press conference. This will be her first visit to the Capitol. In her youth, Meier helped her artist grandmother, was an actress, marathon runner and founded the Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier Charitable Foundation for the Arts in Wilmette, IL.

Since 2004, the proceeds from ornament sales have supported over $75,000 in restoration projects around the Capitol building. Previous ornament sales have helped to fund the visitor’s bird’s eye view from the glass perch inside the dome of the State Capitol.

We hope you can join us for this unveiling event. I’m also including a media advisory below with more information. 

Thanks for your consideration,

Kara

Media Advisory

What: Press Conference to unveil the 2019 State Capitol Ornament 

When: Monday, June 10, 2019

Time: 11:30 am

Where: Assembly Parlor, Wisconsin State Capitol, 2 E Main St, Madison, WI 53703

Interview Opportunities: Ornament committee representatives and Helen Coburn Meier, granddaughter of Jean Pond Miner who sculpted the statue, “Forward.”

Why: The 2019 ornament is a tribute to the centennial celebration of Wisconsin’s Suffrage (1919-2019) and the famous “Forward” sculpture which presides in front of the entrance of the West Wing of the State Capitol. The “Forward” sculpture was created by Jean Pond Miner, who was born in 1865 in Menasha WI and grew up in the Madison area. She graduated from Downer College in Fox Lake and continued her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Miner signed a contract with the State Board of World’s Fair Managers of Wisconsin on September 15, 1892, to design and produce a statue representative of her native state. The Janesville Ladies Afternoon Club recommended Miner for an artist-in-residence position at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition to be held in Chicago. Miner completed “Forward” at the Exposition, and it was displayed there. After the fair, Wisconsin women raised funds to produce a permanent statue of Miner’s clay “Forward.” In 1895, the Legislature passed a bill to place the statue at the State Capitol. “Forward” was installed on the lawn near the east entrance atop a granite pedestal with a bronze plate that read “Forward, Wisconsin Women’s Memorial of the Columbian Exposition, 1893.”

On October 22, 1895, the statue was unveiled “with a formal dedication to Women’s Suffrage,” and Mrs. John Winans of Janesville WI, President of the Ladies Board of Managers of the World’s Fair Commission, presented it to the state “in the name of the women of Wisconsin.”

 Since 2004, the proceeds from ornament sales have supported over $75,000 in restoration projects around the Capitol building. Previous ornament sales have helped to fund the visitor’s bird’s eye view from the glass perch inside the dome of the State Capitol.

The ornament is set in a special gift box and will be available for purchase while supplies last at Orange Tree Imports, Wisconsin Historical Museum, State Capitol Tours, Monona Terrace, The Bruce Company, MMoCA, Tis the Season and the Executive Residence. Online ornament purchases may be made by visiting wisconsinhistory.org/capitolornament.

 
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