A Joan of Arc statue that was presented to the City of Wichita in 1970 is back on display, this time inside City Hall.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday for the statue during Mayor Lily Wu’s weekly news conference. The statue was a gift from Wichita’s Sister City of Orleans, France in honor of the Wichita Centennial celebration in 1970.
The original marble statue is a copy of a statue sculpted by Princess Marie d’Orleans, the youngest daughter of King Louis-Phillipe the First, which stands in the palace of Versailles. It was removed in 1996 because of concerns over damage caused by extreme weather over the years. A bronze copy of the sculpture was cast by Allessandro del Monte in Rome, Italy and rededicated at its current location in front of the former downtown library building at 223 S. Main. The bronze copy will continue to be on display at the former library. The original statue was put into storage to protect it before being rededicated in the lobby of City Hall.
The city’s director of arts and cultural services, Lindsay Benacka, said the original and the bronze copy have been inspected and they are in great condition. She said it’s appropriate to have the original on display in City Hall, close to displays of other gifts that have been presented to Wichita by Sister Cities.
Mayor Wu said she had the opportunity to see the original statue last summer in the basement of Century II, and she asked that it be brought to City Hall for display.
