Senate art committee advances four finalists for Elizabeth Freeman and Abigail Adams busts, plans second-round review

The Senate Art Committee on Dec. 18 advanced four finalists for two planned busts — Elizabeth Freeman and Abigail Adams — and agreed to a second round of scoring that will give committee members more space for narrative feedback on expression, gaze, age and materials.

Chair opened the public working session and described two decision paths: invite a shortlist to submit revised proposals or reopen the request-for-proposals to solicit additional work. For Elizabeth Freeman the committee identified Serena Bates (average score 3.7), Jordan Hein (3.6), Meredith Bergman (3.6) and Anne Hirsch (3.4) as the top four submissions. For Abigail Adams the top four were Meredith Bergman (4.1), Anne Hirsch (4.1), Serena Bates (3.8) and Jordan Hein (3.6).

Committee members emphasized they were not issuing final awards at the session. "We would take these top 4. These would all be scored again with more narrative feedback," the chair said, summarizing the committee's plan to rescore finalists with more specific guidance on posture, clothing and expression.

Members debated how closely an artist should follow the single known portrait of Elizabeth Freeman. LaMerchie Frasier, who said she has worked with Anne Hirsch, vouched for Hirsch's reliability and said the portrait's frown was a concern: "The frown was my only, a point of concern," she said, urging further discussion with the artist on expression. Senator Edwards urged the committee to consider the bust's representational impact, asking, "What does she say to the young Black girl who doesn't see herself in any other room in the state senate?" Edwards suggested outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their art departments if the RFP is reopened to broaden the pool of artists.

Staff described logistics if the committee reopens the RFP. "It would at least have to be for the same amount of days that the first round of artists had to put together their submissions," staff member Bianca said, adding that recruitment and targeted postings would be needed to reach more candidates. Committee members also discussed paying a small fee to finalists to produce clay models for a second-round submission; the chair said she would consult the Senate business office about whether funding for such stipends was feasible.

The committee did not take a formal vote. Instead members recorded a consensus to advance the four shortlisted artists for each commission into a rescoring phase, and to instruct staff to consult with Senate counsel and the Senate business office about what reopening the RFP would require and a realistic timeline. Chair said committee members will receive a poll for availability in January to schedule follow-up meetings with full participation.

Next steps: staff will circulate the roadmap and the rescoring materials to the committee, consult counsel about a potential reopening, and schedule additional meetings in January for interviews or further narrowing of finalists. The committee adjourned at the close of the meeting.