|
The
sculpture was removed from the dome of the Courthouse and
transported to Dallas, Texas, where John Dennis, of the Dallas
Museum of Art, restored her. The "pre-restoration" pictures were
taken at their shop in February 2001 and she was completed by July
2001.
The "Enlightened Justice", as Mr. Stephenson himself called her was
a work that he was very proud of. In a Corpus Christi Caller-Times
article by Travis Moorman published in about 1953, he was asked to
reminisce on the work. He had this to say:
"..(She) represents an "enlightened Justice - a representation of
what Justice should be."
The article further says:
"Now the blindfold on the usual justice is a fine theoretical way of
representing impartiality in meting out justice. But, from a
practical standpoint, Stephenson thinks the lady should have both
eyes open to see who might be trying to tip her scales one way or
the other. The Bee County figure of Justice carries no scales. In
the right hand is the torch of knowledge and in her left, a staff
with the "scroll of records" attached to it..."
"Stephenson said he made the clay model for the statue here in
Beeville (note by Paul Gerdes - 1708 North Madison, now razed) and
sent it to St. Louis where it was cast in copper (note by Paul
Gerdes; the statue is actually made from zinc - and was painted with
a coating that resembled copper at the time, or nearly as it appears
today. I don't think he ever knew it was made of zinc and not
copper). The company that completed the figure asked and got
Stephenson's permission to make copies of his work. There may be
other "Stephenson Justices" scattered about the country, but he
never took the time to check and see where they were placed."
The entire article is posted on the W.C. Stephenson webpage.
|