The great copper respousse statue that crowns the State House was
designed, executed and given to the State of Maine by William Clark Noble.
Mr. Noble was born at South Gardiner, Maine, February 10, 1858, the son of Clark and Emma
(Freeman) Noble. He was educated in Gardiner and Richmond and brought up by a grandfather
after his father, a ship captain, and his mother were lost at sea off the New England
coast.
At his grandfather's farm near Gardiner, he showed early interest in sculpture by creating
clay figures from the banks of Wilmore Creek. From these beginnings, Mr. Noble rose to
become a ranking American sculptor for a half century. His statues, busts and other works
may be found worldwide.
The draped female figure that adorns the State Capitol building is perhaps best known to
the Citizens of Maine. Although the Statue is commonly misreferenced as Athena, the Greek
Goddess of Wisdom, or Minerva, the Italian Goddess of Arts and Crafts, the following
account around the time of the 1909 enlargement of the Maine State House was recalled by
the sculptor himself:
(Picture by David Silsby)
"I was spending some time in Boston, and happened into the office of Mr. Desmond,
the architect, and noted, while looking over the plans for alteration of the Maine
Capitol, that he had suggested a statue for the dome. In answer to my questions, he
informed me that there was no appropriation made to pay for such a one as he would like to
have, but informed me that the contractor would put some kind of figure in tin or zinc,
pressed in halves and riveted together..."
Mr. Noble went to the contractor and interested him in a copper statue, making a gift of
his time and skill. Working from a 10" sketch model, he created a classic figure of a
woman he named "Lady of Wisdom" with right arm rigidly upraised, close to the
head, with torch in hand, Mr. Noble's conception of Augusta (the City), holding a pine
torch (the State).
From this 10" sketch model the large statue was made. The 12-foot high figure, 15
feet to the torch, was marked off in sections, the pieces brazed together with silver
solder and the interior of the copper statue filled with hundreds of angle braces which
make the work most rigid. It was then gilded and mounted, becoming one of the finest
statues on any State Capitol in the United States.
W. Clark Noble passed away in 1938 at his Washington, D.C. home at 80 years of age,
survived by his wife, Emile Bleecher Noble, and a son, William Jr. He was returned to Mt.
Hope Cemetery in Gardiner for burial.
The citizens of the State of Maine have come to know and appreciate this native son whose
distinguished career and generous contributions have left visible evidence of his enduring
love for the great State of Maine.
