Senate Art Committee revives to select first female bust for Senate Chamber

The Senate Art Committee met in its inaugural session to begin selecting a woman to be honored with the first female bust in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber and to set rules and a timeline for the commission process.

The committee’s charge, revived after renovations to the Senate chamber, is to review public nominations, recommend a single honoree by March and oversee commissioning and installation of a sculpture. "This committee was formed to take a look at all of the nominations," Senate President Karen Spilka said, adding the effort grew out of the statehouse renovation and a goal to make the chamber more representative.

The work will proceed in two phases: selecting the honoree and then commissioning the sculpture. "Once chosen this bust will be the first to depict a woman in the senate chamber," the committee chair, Senator Julian Cyr, said, describing the sculptural and procurement steps the committee will oversee — selecting a sculptor, refining design concepts,…