Martha Mitchell, (sculpture).

Martha Mitchell, (sculpture).

Ludtke, Lawrence Monroe, 1929- , sculptor.

Martha Mitchell, (sculpture).

1980. Dedicated May 31, 1981.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: red granite.

Sculpture: approx. 24 x 18 x 18 in.; Base: approx. 42 x 36 x 36 in.

(On proper left rear of sculpture:) LUDTKE (On bronze plaque, upper front of base, raised lettering:) IN MEMORY OF/MARTHA BEALL MITCHELL/BORN PINE BLUFF, ARK./SEPT. 2, 1918/DIED NEW YORK, N. Y./MAY 31, 1976/"YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH/AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE"/DEDICATED MAY 31, 1981 signed

A waist-length portrait of Martha Mitchell wearing her hair pulled back from her face in a bun. She is dressed in a buttoned garment with a scarf tied in a bow at her collar. She wears a pair of earrings resembling olive branches and a pin in the shape of an olive branch. The sculpture is mounted atop a tapered pedestal of polished red granite.

Portrait female -- Mitchell, Martha Beall -- Waist length

Dress -- Accessory -- Jewelry

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arkansas -- Pine Bluff

Administered by City of Pine Bluff, Maintenance Department, 200 East 8th Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601

Located On Esplanade halfway between South Main & State Street at 10th Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas

The $6,000 bust and pedestal were paid for by the Martha Mitchell Memorial Fund, financed with donations from Mrs. Mitchell's friends. Martha Mitchell, who was born and raised in Pine Bluff, was known for her outspokenness, especially during the Watergate controversy. She was then wife of President Nixon's attorney general, John N. Mitchell. She died on May 31, 1976 at the age of 57. According to the artist, the olive branch earrings and brooch are a symbol of Mrs. Mitchell's desire for world peace and her opposition to the Vietnam War. IAS files contain related articles from the Pine Bluff Commercial, June 1, 1981, pg. 1-2, and June 2, 1981, pg. 4.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arkansas survey, 1992.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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