Overview
- The life‑size bronze of Thomas Jefferson by sculptor George Lundeen was erected in the Rose Garden in mid‑July as the fifth new statue on the paved‑over lawn.
- The work shows Jefferson seated with a quill and a draft of the Declaration of Independence and arrived at the White House in late June for security review before being installed.
- A White House official said the Jefferson piece was a gift from Lundeen, unlike three other Rose Garden works—Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and Freedom’s Charge—which were loans from donor Harlan Crow.
- The statue currently faces the Truman Balcony and the White House says its placement is temporary while final siting and site preparation are completed.
- Supporters call the additions a restoration of traditional, realistic monuments while critics say the secretive, rapid installations and donor role risk whitewashing contested histories and reshaping ceremonial space.