Creating a Masterpiece
Nilda Comas Brings Special Talent to Mary McLeod Bethune Project
Nilda Comas standing next to the statue in her studio
Most people never get a chance to make history even once in their lives . For Nilda Comas , that chance has come not once , but twice . The Puerto Rican-born artist is the first Hispanic sculptor chosen to create a piece for the National Statuary Hall , and her subject , Mary McLeod Bethune , will be the first African-American woman to represent a U . S . state in the gallery in the U . S . Capitol .
“ It was about time ,” Comas said in an interview produced by local insurance giant Brown & Brown highlighting the effort to honor Bethune . “ It ’ s about time that a woman would be in the National Statuary Hall and an African-American , and I will be the first Hispanic sculptor . It is very exciting .”
In the video , Comas said she was one of 1,600 applicants who responded to a call for artists from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs . And of the 10 finalists selected , she was the only female artist .
“ I was the only one who could work in marble or bronze ,” she said . “ And I didn ’ t know who I was going to sculpt at the time . I knew that to be in the Capitol and ( the ) highest honor in history has been to do a sculpture in marble at the National Statuary Hall .”
Her excitement at the prospect of taking such a highprofile commission only increased when she learned her subject would be Mary McLeod Bethune .
“ I was excited ,” she said . “ I wanted to learn everything about her .”
Comas said she traveled to Bethune ’ s birthplace in Mayesville , South Carolina and visited the Daytona Beach campus of Bethune-Cookman University as well as the Library of Congress .
“ I studied 284 photographs ( of Bethune ) and I got to study as much as I could and meet people that knew her ,” she said . “ The more I knew about her the more excited I was about doing her sculpture .”
With such a prestigious assignment , Comas knew exactly where she needed to go to create the statue and where to find the perfect piece of marble : Pietrasanta , Italy . The town ,
10 | PARENT MAGAZINES FLORIDA