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:
"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.