Thomas Lingeman, a University of Toledo professor of art, is one of three finalists being considered to make a new statue of Thomas Edison for Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.
Tom Lingeman’s proposed statue of Thomas Edison
The Ohio Statuary Hall Commission will announce the chosen designer Monday, Dec. 22, after receiving approval by the state, the architect of the Capitol, and the joint committee on the Library of Congress.
The chosen design will be placed in National Statuary Hall, a meeting chamber built for the House of Representatives in the early 1800s. Today, every state has the ability to display two statues in the two-story amphitheater room that has colossal columns and tile floors of marble.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to represent Ohioans and the nation through my work and talents. And if I’m chosen to do this, I look forward to working with the Ohio Statuary Hall Commission using the vast resources of The University of Toledo in the production and installation of a lasting work of art in the U.S. Capitol,” Lingeman said.
The UT professor’s work has been shown internationally at the Camara de Comercio in Toledo, Spain, and at the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland. Additionally, he has permanent works of art on display throughout the area, including at UT, the Juvenile Justice Center and Olander Park in Sylvania.
Lingeman joined the UT Department of Art in 1979 after he obtained a master of fine arts degree from Southern Illinois University.
