Sculptor
Gordon Thomas of Greenville gets a close-up look at the 8-foot tall statue
of the late statesman Sam Rayburn that he is working on. A&M-Commerce
photo/Craig Buck.
(Commerce)—The fund-raising effort for the Sam Rayburn statue at Texas A&M University-Commerce is just $5,000 short of its goal.
The Rayburn Statue Committee has set a goal of reaching its $75,000 goal by the end of the year, according to James Conrad, university archivist who is chairing the committee.
There has been excellent support for the project from alumni, citizens and politicians at the state and national levels, Conrad said. "The Rayburn Statue Committee and President Keith McFarland will make a push to finish the campaign and complete the fund-raising effort in December," he said.
A 1903 graduate of East Texas Normal College (now A&M-Commerce), Rayburn served as a congressman for about 50 years through the administrations of eight presidents and held the powerful post of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for 17 years. He played a crucial role in helping to get passed much of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation.
Of the statue fund-raising project, Conrad said Congressman Ralph Hall of Rockwall has played a key role in helping to generate support and made a contribution to the project.
Also, Congressman Mike Conaway of Midland, an alumnus of the university, has contributed as well as several Commerce businesses including Alliance Bank, Cypress Bank and Guaranty Bond Bank. The Texas A&M University-Commerce Foundation has made a substantial pledge, he said.
Political notables making contributions include former Texas Governor Ann Richards, former Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes and his wife, Melanie, and the Lady Bird Johnson family.
Other significant contributions have come from Alice and Erle Nye and the Nye Family Charitable Fund at The Dallas Foundation, the Roland and Nannette Boyd Family, and the family of Larry Franklin, chair of Harte-Hanks, Inc.
Rayburn, who was remembered as a mentor to Texas' Lyndon Johnson, a congressman and later vice president and president of the United States, and other younger political leaders, died in 1961 at age 79.
The likeness of Rayburn will be depicted in an 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture that is being sculpted by Gordon Thomas, Greenville artist, alumnus and retired A&M-Commerce director of creative services.
Thomas has completed the clay figure and is working on small details, such as the statue's ears, fingernails, buttons on the vest and coat jacket, and shoes.
As Rayburn would have done as speaker, the figure holds the gavel in the right hand and points with the other hand as if recognizing a member of the House to speak. The gavel is modeled after the one given to him by East Texas State Teachers College as A&M-Commerce was then known and is on display at the Rayburn Library and Museum in Bonham.
The statue will stand behind a speaker's rostrum just as Rayburn did in the House.
Before working on the clay figure, Thomas did research on Rayburn, looking at materials and as many pictures of him as he could find. "The challenge is doing the research and getting the material to find out about his gavel, his dress, and how he looked," said Thomas who sculpted the William L. Mayo statue at A&M-Commerce and the Audie Murphy statue located at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum in Greenville.
Hoka Hey Foundry, located between Dublin and Stephenville, will cast the Rayburn statue and rostrum in bronze.
For more information on the statue project, contact Conrad at (903) 886-5737 or by email at James_Conrad@tamu-commerce.edu.