James Muir Bronze Sculptor | Allegorical Sculpture & Monuments in Bronze

James Muir has been nominated for the 2011 Governor's Arts Awards in Arizona

A ghostly figure wrapped in cloths secured with packing tape offered a mystery to visitors of the newly opened Jefferson Hall.

A brow and nose could be detected through the blanket draped over the figure's head. Bronze legs and a pair of shoes were visible, too, from where the figure stood in front of the building.

The commotion about who was standing seemingly bound and gagged in front of the new library, officially open less than a week at the time, moved inside, where the mystery began to be solved.

A granite pedestal awaited in the library's rotunda. Perhaps those legs and shoes were meant to rest upon the pedestal.

Sure enough, a team of movers hoisted the massive, puzzling figure onto the pedestal and promptly removed the protective wraps.

A familiar face smiled to the crowd.

The group of cadets, staff members and other on-lookers was greeted by the third president of the United States.

The statue portrays in detail - from the writing on a document to the design of a pinky ring - how Thomas Jefferson likely looked March 16, 1802, when he signed the law that established the U.S. Military Academy.

The rotunda in which Jefferson's statue rests is a gift from the class of 1968. The class' fundraising goal of $2.5 million to build the rotunda was exceeded, so the class spent the extra money on the statue and some other aesthetic details and commemorative plaques to come, Dutch Hostler, class vice president and chairman of the class gift committee, said.
Jefferson was chosen for the statue because the building bears his name, and the signing of the law that brought the academy into existence seemed to be the most fitting act of Jefferson's to be portrayed in West Point's library, Hostler said.

James Nathan Muir, former class of 1968, was commissioned to sculpt the statue. Researching and sculpting the statue took two years, Muir's wife, Linda, said. Muir enlisted the help of a Jefferson re-enactor from Colonial Williamsburg, Va., to model and offer historical perspective.

"Nothing is by accident," Linda Muir said about the statue's designs. "He has on the right kind of clothing. Everything down to how the shoes are tied is historically accurate."

The Muirs came from Arizona to supervise the statue's installation. And while they had a rather uneventful trip to West Point, their bronze guest did not. The statue, which travelled separately by truck, was "tested by fire, just like the real Thomas Jefferson was tested by fire," Hostler said, referring to Jefferson's library burning down. The truck carrying the statue caught on fire in Indiana, and Jefferson was singed. But, cleaning restored the statue to pre-fire condition. Seeing the as-good-as-new statue installed in its resting place was a good feeling for the artist, who considers the statue his gift to his former class and the academy. The academy "cemented in me a code of honor and a never-flinching quest for and adherence to the Truth, with a capital T, in all things," Muir said. Having such a noted figure and honored philosopher keeping watch over the library's entrance adds to the building's academic experience, Brig. Gen. Patrick Finnegan, the academy's dean, said.
"This building is the centerpiece of our academic program, and as you can see, cadets are already attracted to (the statue)," Finnegan said. "This building is for cadets and about cadets. (The statue) is going to help attract them here."
For now, though, Jefferson's statue has been recovered and will remain so until a dedication scheduled for 11 a.m. Sept. 5 during the class' 40th reunion. The class also will be able to see quotes in large letters from Jefferson adorning the circular wall around the the rotunda's ceiling and commemorative plaques hung on the wall honoring 20 classmates killed in action during the Vietnam War and particularly generous donors.