Senate Art Committee outlines scoring, $80,000 budget and timeline for two chamber busts

The Senate Art Committee on an announced public working session reviewed the procurement process and scoring rubric for two planned bust commissions and set next steps for final recommendations.

Chair Sen. Julian Cyr said the committee will recommend artists for two busts — one of Abigail Adams and one of Elizabeth Freeman — and that the Senate will issue contracts based on the committee’s recommendation. “The budget per bust is $80,000. That is inclusive of all artist costs and materials,” Cyr said.

Why it matters: The committee is conducting a public procurement to add two commemorative busts to the Senate chamber. The decision combines artistic, historical and technical considerations that committee members said should reflect the chamber’s architecture and the Commonwealth’s history.

What the committee decided and asked members to do: Cyr reviewed six evaluation criteria that each member must score independently on a 1–5 scale: artistic merit and technique; emotional impact; aesthetic quality; faithfulness to historical likeness; suitability for the Senate chamber; and physical stability and permanence of materials. Cyr asked members to submit numeric scores and a short narrative by Dec. 8 to staff, so staff can compile results before the committee’s meeting on Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.

Bianca Hoffman, Senate counsel, described the procurement process and the approval path: the committee will make a public recommendation and Cyr will present that recommendation to the Senate president and the full Senate for final approval. Billy Rinaldi of the Senate Business Office said staff had prepared a spreadsheet to collect scores and would supply missing file links for members who had trouble accessing proposals.

Submissions and scope: Cyr said the RFP received nine submissions from individual artists and studios, and that the committee may recommend one or two artists depending on proposals. Staff noted more submissions were received for the Abigail Adams commission than for Elizabeth Freeman and that one artist had indicated a potential late sketch for the Freeman commission, which would only be considered if it arrived promptly.

Next steps: Members should return completed numeric scores and narrative comments to Colin Hennessy in the chair’s office by Dec. 8. The committee will reconvene Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. to review compiled scores and deliberate. Minutes and the transcript for today’s meeting will be completed and posted for the public record.

The chair adjourned the meeting after confirming the timetable and thanking members and staff.