This sculpture of Dr. Marcus Whitman stands in the Fairview Museum of History and Art, in Fairview, Utah. It is the original plaster cast of the sculpture that stands in the Statuary Hall of the Nation's Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Avard Fairbanks sculpted both statues. The sign at the statue reads:
DR. MARCUS WHITMAN
by Avard Fairbanks
This heroic sculpture of Dr. Marcus Whitman
was created in 1950 for Washington State, and
placed in Statuary Hall in the Nation's Capitol
Building in Washington D.C. IN 1836, Whitman
was the first medical doctor in the Oregon Territory
and was a Presbyterian missionary. He was the first
to use a wheeled vehicle on the entire Oregon Trail,
and he and his wife made the first American home on
the Pacific coast.
To secure backing to continue the mission at
Waiilatpu near the present city of Walla Walla,
Washington, in 1842 he traveled east to the
Presbyterian headquarters in Boston. He visited
Washington D.C., and successfully influenced
legislators to realize the value and great potential of
the Oregon Territories. In Boston, after convincing
the mission headquarters of the importance of his
mission, he returned to St. Louis, Missouri.
The first large wagon train was being assembled and
he agreed to serve as its guide west.
In 1847, he and his wife and seven others at the
mission, were victims of an Indian massacre during a
measles epidemic among the Native People, who
didn't understand the disease and blamed Whitman
for their suffering.
This sculpture is the original plaster cast from
which the Capitol bronze was made. Other bronze
casts of this work have been placed in Olympia, the
capitol of Washington State, and at Walla Walla,
Washington, on the campus of Whitman College.
Of interest - the beige house that you see directly
across the street from where you stand, was the
original Presbyterian Church in Fairview.
This larger than life-sized statue depicts Dr. Marcus Whitman standing atop a rock, in a somewhat walking position, with his left foot forward. He exudes a sense of strength and confidence as he looks forward, slightly to the right. In his right hand he holds a large book at his waist, while his left hand holds two large saddle bags at his side. He wears square-toed boots and is dressed in mountain man clothing of buckskins, with a scarf around his neck and an animal skin cap. The sculpture is painted to appear bronze. The plinth is a short light colored museum display stand.
"Marcus Whitman was born on September 4, 1802. At the age of seven, when his father died, he went to Rushville, New York, to live with his uncle. He dreamed of becoming a minister but did not have the money for such a time-consuming curriculum. Instead, he studied medicine for two years with an experienced doctor and received his degree from Fairfield Medical College. In 1834 he applied to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Two years later, Whitman married Narcissa Prentiss. A teacher of physics and chemistry, Narcissa was eager to travel west as a missionary but, as a single woman, had been forbidden to do so.
Marcus and Narcissa made an extraordinary team. They joined a caravan of fur traders and went west, establishing several missions as well as their own settlement, Waiilatpu, in the Blue Mountains near the present city of Walla Walla, Washington. Marcus farmed and gave medical attention, while Narcissa gave classes to the Indian children. Returning from a trip east, Whitman assisted in the "Great Emigration" of 1843, which clearly established the Oregon Trail.
The primitive health practices of the Indians and their lack of immunity to diseases such as measles fostered the belief that Whitman was causing the death of his patients. The Indian tradition holding medicine men personally responsible for the patient's recovery led to the murder of the Whitmans on November 29, 1847, in their home." (
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"Dr. Avard Tennyson Fairbanks
Born: March 2, 1897 - Died: January 1, 1987
Avard Tennyson Fairbanks was born in Provo Utah in 1897. The son of John B. Fairbanks a well known artist, Avard will continue the family legacy as a prolific sculptor. With the death of his mother Lilly when he was only about a year old, and his father busy providing for his family Avard’s brother J. Leo Fairbanks will manage the family.
At the age of 12, Avard showed interest in sculpting. With the guidance of J. Leo, Avard’s first work was a clay model of a rabbit. This model would win first prize in the State Fair. At the age of 13, Avard would follow his father to New York City. Modeling animals from the Bronx Zoological Gardens and showing a natural talent for sculpting, Avard would be awarded scholarships to study at the Arts Students League at New York. During this time Avard would become personally acquainted with several notable sculptors. These included Cyrus E. Dallin (sculptor of the Winfield Scott Hancock on the Pennsylvania Memorial) and Lorado Taft (sculptor of the 3rd, 4th Michigan Infantry Monuments and the Michigan “Custer” Memorial). In 1913 Avard would move to Paris to study at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts. While in Paris he would also study at the Ecole de la Grande Chaumiere and other noted schools.
Today, Fairbanks is considered one of the most distinguished sculptors in America. His statues have been erected around the world. Throughout the United States, Fairbanks is particularly well known for his Lincoln monuments. Four of his works are on permanent display in the U.S. Capitol Building’s statuary hall as well as four marble busts of Lincoln located in Ford Theater, Washington DC." (
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"The Fairview Museum of History and Art has a fascinating selection of items, documents and artifacts from the greater Fairview area. Boasting magnificent sculptures by renowned artist Dr. Avard T. Fairbanks the museum is sure to impress any visitor. The crown jewel of the museum is perhaps the life-size cast replica of a Columbian Mammoth skeleton unearthed in 1988, only 18 miles east of Fairview at Huntington Reservoir." (
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"An outstanding regional cultural center which showcases regional history, art and a world-class collection of Arvard T. Fairbanks's works of art. The museum features sculptures, a replica of the Huntington Mammoth, carvings, and artwork. Two buildings of exhibits will keep visitors engaged for hours." (
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"The museum is full of historical data, artifacts pictures and artwork. Part of the museum is the Natural History Building which houses a full scale replica of a nearly fully intact Columbian mammoth. The mammoth was unearthed on the nearby Wasatch Plateau in 1988 while excavating the Huntington Reservoir.
The work of one of Utah’s most famous artists, Avard T. Fairbanks, is also on display at the Fairview Museum." (
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The museum houses historical artifacts, art ( a wide variety of sculptures and paintings); provides humanities lectures, school tours, local historic archive, oral history collection, and family history collection. In the central atrium is a New Columbian Mammoth skeleton, while upstairs is an extensive Avard Fairbank sculpture collection.