This statue representing Olive Risley Seward (1844-1908) was sculpted in 1972 and is in the yard of a private residence at 601 North Carolina Ave. SE. Risley Seward’s head is turned left and gazes at the square named after her adoptive father, William Henry Seward, US secretary of state (1861-1869) under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson.

Following the death of Seward’s wife and daughter, shortly after the Lincoln assassination, Olive Risley became Secretary of State Seward’s confidante and travelling companion. To avoid gossip about their relationship and 40-year age difference, Seward adopted Risley. Following Seward’s death, Olive Risley Seward lived primarily in Washington, DC, and was a co-founder of the Literary Society of Washington. In 1972, DC artist John Cavanaugh, lacking a photograph of Risley Seward, created his version of an idealized Victorian lady out of hammered lead. Cavanaugh died in 1985 of lung cancer, attributed to his longtime work with lead, a poisonous metal.

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For more information on this historic sites, go to the restoration society’s web page for the tour at http://chrs.org/historic-sites-tour-2020/

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly unsharp.

Contemplative mallard, posted earlier: