Topping the Dome by Richard Novak
Early American History, Creative nonfiction
$2.99 ebook
$9.96 print
$18.84 audible
Create Space, this
edition, 2011
ISBN 978-1466276789
From the
publisher:
2013 will be the 150th anniversary of topping the Capitol Dome in
Washington with the sculpture of Freedom by Thomas Crawford. A picture of the
Capitol Dome is second only to the Flag as America's most iconic image and can
be seen daily as a segue into news from Washington. This is the tragic story of
the creator and creation of the sculpture Freedom.
In 1835, Thomas Crawford leaves America to study sculpture in Rome under the
world's premier sculptor. His career takes him back and forth between the
ancient Capitol of Rome and the new Capitol of America, Washington, D.C. Art
and politics collide as his patrons in America struggle to have his work
accepted by a Congress bitterly divided over the issue of slavery. Crawford
would eventually create more sculpture for the Capitol than any other sculptor.
With the country at war, Abraham Lincoln refuses to halt the construction of
the Capitol, and Crawford's greatest work, the statue of Freedom, is placed on
the Capitol Dome in the midst of the Civil War, December 2, 1863. In this true
story, three other men, Charles Sumner, a staunch abolitionist, Senator, and
ideologue, Clark Mills, a self-taught sculptor and opportunist, and the
supervisor of construction of the Capitol, Captain Montgomery C. Meigs, an
autocratic achiever, play major roles in this confrontation between art and
politics and the success of Thomas Crawford. Their careers, in their own way,
mirror Crawford's during this tumultuous period leading up to the Civil War.
My review:
Creative
non-fiction is always tricky, especially when recreating conversation, dialog,
and setting. Novak has done a more than credible job of telling the events of
crowing America with a dome on the Capitol building. It was a long road of
showing American pride in our early national history. From ordering a
sculpture, Freedom, to finding the perfect person to create the "crowning
achievement" to garnering the funds to cover the cost, readers of American
history will find much to appreciate in this detailed and highly documented story.
A nearly
thirty-year journey, Topping the Dome focuses on the sculptor, Thomas Crawford,
and his ally in government, Charles Sumner, and their friendship and efforts to
keep the America they loved from crumbling into ruin during the buildup to the
Civil War.
Novak, a sculptor,
history buff, world traveler, and former medical school professor, has put
together a fine book. Included are photographs of the people and events, and a
truly astonishing bibliography. Parts of original letters back up the narrative.
Novak's personal experience as a sculptor adds to the story in a way someone
who didn't understand the process could never have achieved. Artists also will
find this story of creating a gem of national pride intriguing.
About the author: Richard
F. Novak, a sculptor for 40 years, has works in both public spaces and private
collections. This work is the culmination of two years research. My original
intent was to tell the story from the perspective of a sculptor. However, as I
moved through the extensive research material available, the era and the fascinating
men and women who touched on his life shaped an intriguing story which I felt
must be included with Crawford's. Rather than present the story as another
encyclopedic description of Crawford's achievements, I decided to bring these
amazing characters to life in the genre of an historical novel. The dialogue
is, of course, fictional, but the story is based on the actual events as they
unfolded from 1835 to 1863. For more see toppingthedome.com.
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