Five sculptures now stand in the White House Rose Garden. That fact is not in dispute. How they got there, who paid for them, and where they go next are questions to which the administration has offered only partial answers.
The most recent addition is a life-size bronze of Thomas Jefferson, depicted seated at the portable writing desk he designed, quill in hand, working on the Declaration of Independence. The statue was sculpted by George Lundeen, a Colorado-based artist aged 77, and was installed in mid-July 2026, according to two anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post and a White House official who spoke on the record to USA TODAY.
Lundeen confirmed he shipped the work and subsequently received a congratulatory telephone call from the president. Filmmaker Steven C. Barber said he helped arrange the donation. The full identity of the donor has not been confirmed on the record. The White House characterised the statue as a gift valued at approximately $150,000, according to USA TODAY citing an official.
The Jefferson statue's current placement — facing the Truman Balcony, its back to the Oval Office — is temporary. Its intended permanent site within the Rose Garden requires structural reinforcement before installation can proceed, per USA TODAY. At the conclusion of Trump's term, the statue may be transferred to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library in Miami, or loaned or donated back to the White House, a White House official told USA TODAY.
The Jefferson statue is an outlier among the Rose Garden's recent acquisitions in one respect: it is a gift, not a loan. Three of the other four sculptures — a Benjamin Franklin, an Alexander Hamilton, and a piece titled 'Freedom's Charge' honouring Revolutionary War soldiers — are on loan from Harlan Crow, a conservative donor and art collector. The White House had described those works only as contributions from what it called 'generous private American patriots,' without naming Crow. His involvement was subsequently confirmed by a spokesperson for Crow. A George Washington statue, relocated from the Washington Monument grounds, completes the five.
The administration's handling of the Hamilton statue in March 2026 did not inspire confidence in its curatorial attention. The White House initially identified the Hamilton as Jefferson, an error the Daily Beast reported was corrected approximately 90 minutes later.
The Rose Garden campaign sits within a broader commemorative ambition. The administration has framed the sculpture installations as part of preparations for America's 250th anniversary. A larger initiative — the National Garden of American Heroes, originally announced at Mount Rushmore during Trump's first term and envisioning 250 statues in West Potomac Park — has not progressed to match that framing. As of April 2026, the project had received neither required approval from the Commission of Fine Arts nor from the National Capital Planning Commission. Sources familiar with planning told CNN that not a single statue was likely to be ready by 4 July 2026. Whether any artists have been formally selected or have begun work remains unconfirmed.
Lundeen has a prior commercial relationship with the president: he also sculpted a statue of Trump displayed at the latter's West Palm Beach golf course. Whether that connection influenced the Jefferson commission or the donation arrangement has not been addressed by the White House.
Whether the administration intends to formally disclose the provenance of all works currently displayed on White House grounds — beyond the Crow-linked pieces now confirmed — is not known.
Comments (0)