| Robert E. Lee | |
|---|---|
 The statue | |
| Artist | Edward Virginius Valentine |
| Medium | Bronze sculpture |
| Subject | Robert E. Lee |
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, United States |
Robert E. Lee is abronze sculpture commemorating thegeneral of the same name byEdward Virginius Valentine, formerly installed in thecrypt of theUnited States Capitol as part of theNational Statuary Hall Collection.[1][2][3] The statue was given by the Commonwealth ofVirginia in 1909.[4] On December 21, 2020, the sculpture was removed from the grounds of the United States Capitol and relocated to theVirginia Museum of History & Culture.[5]
On January 2, 2020, Virginia governorRalph Northam requested a bill to remove the statue from the U.S. Capitol building. The idea came from United States representativesJennifer Wexton andDonald McEachin. "These statutes aimed to rewrite Lee’s reputation from that of a cruel slave owner and Confederate General to portraying him as a kind man and reluctant war hero who selflessly served his home state of Virginia," Wexton and McEachin wrote in a letter to Northam. The pair suggested several potential candidates, including educator and oratorBooker T. Washington and civil rights attorneyOliver Hill.[6]
On December 16, 2020, the Commission on Historical Statues in the United States Capitol unanimously recommended that the Lee statue be replaced with a statue of civil rights activistBarbara Rose Johns as the Virginian representative within the collection.[7] The statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from theNational Statuary Hall five days later, on 21 December with Wexton, McEachin, and Virginia United States SenatorTim Kaine in attendance.[5][8] It was then transferred to theVirginia Museum of History & Culture.[5]
Media related toRobert E. Lee by Edward Virginius Valentine at Wikimedia Commons
