First monument honoring a Kentucky woman installed in the statehouse
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 10, 2022) – Gov. Andy Beshear, along with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, First Lady Britainy Beshear and members of the Monumental Women of Kentucky Committee, joined together today to officially unveil the long-awaited statue of Nettie Depp in the Kentucky State Capitol. The installation of Depp’s statue marks the first large-scale Capitol monument to honor a Kentucky woman.
“Nettie Depp was a pioneer in the field of public education in Kentucky, serving as an elected school superintendent in Barren County seven years before women were given the right to vote,” Gov. Beshear said. “She is a distinguished Kentucky public figure, and we are proud to honor her with the first monument of a Kentucky woman installed in the statehouse.”
The nearly 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Depp now stands in the vestibule of the West entrance to the State Capitol building. It is adjacent to the hallway that displays the more than 60 portraits that comprise the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit, which was installed in the West Wing of the Capitol in 1996. Until now, the only other permanently installed marker in the Capitol honoring a woman is a plaque featuring the likeness of the late Thelma Stovall, who in 1975 was the first woman elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky.
The Depp statue is now situated outside the entrance to Lt. Gov. Coleman’s office.
“As a young girl, I would often come to Frankfort with my father to visit the Capitol and, even at a young age, I was struck by the absence of women among those who were chosen to be honored with a statue,” said Lt. Gov. Coleman. “My young daughter and others like her will not remember a time that the Capitol did not include a permanent monument honoring a Kentucky woman. And as a teacher myself, I also think it’s serendipitous that her dedication comes just as we prepare to celebrate American Education Week.”
The Nettie Depp project has been in development since 2014, and the statue’s installation was first approved by the Historic Properties Advisory Commission (HPAC) in 2017 as a good representative of Kentucky women who have achieved personal and professional success. HPAC is the state entity responsible for developing criteria for displaying works of art in the Capitol, including sculptures, busts, plaques, paintings or portraits of Kentuckians of significance to the commonwealth. The unveiling of the Depp statue was originally scheduled for August 2020, but installation was postponed due to the COVID-19 worldwide health pandemic and widespread electrical and mechanical work that was completed as part of the ongoing Capitol restoration project.
“As First Lady and the mother of two young public-school students, I am mindful that who and what we choose to recognize and honor can influence the perspective of our children,” the First Lady said. “I’m so honored to participate in this historic unveiling of a monument to a female Kentucky educator. And while this statue honors Nettie Depp and all that she stood for, and accomplished, it also marks a small step in honoring the contributions of women throughout Kentucky’s history.”
The Depp statue was created by artist Amanda Matthews of Lexington, an internationally recognized, award-winning sculptor and designer of public art and CEO of Prometheus Foundry LLC.
Matthews has received 22 professional grants for her work and several business awards, including the National Association of Women Business Owners STRIVE award for Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Her work is featured in many notable collections, including museums, public parks, government buildings and municipalities.
Matthews’ idea for a statue honoring a woman originated in September 2014 while researching gender equity issues. At that time, she became keenly aware of the lack of public statuary honoring the contributions of Kentucky women and pledged to remedy this omission.
The Artemis Initiative, a nonprofit Matthews founded in 2015, was established to create and install public art to elevate the status of women, children, minorities, nature and animals. Its board of directors allocated funds for this project that were donated toward the statue, and no state taxpayer dollars were used for the creation of the monument.
“Years ago, I began a mission as a public artist to lift up muffled voices of our history, to reveal more faces and tell more stories of those who have been silenced and marginalized,” Matthews said. “Nettie Depp was a stalwart education reformer in Kentucky who used her powerful voice on behalf of public education for all children. She also advocated for teachers, suffrage and public service. My hope is that this sculpture not only honors Depp, but serves as a proxy for other unsung Kentucky heroes who dedicate their lives to their communities in service to others. Today, together, we change the trajectory of 230 years of Kentucky history.”
About Nettie Depp
Born on Nov. 21, 1874, in Barren County, Nettie Bayless Courts Depp was the daughter of John Burks Depp, a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, and Mariba Elizabeth Reneau. One of six children, she was educated in the Barren County common schools and graduated from the Liberty Female College in Glasgow. Throughout her professional career as an educator, Depp supported fair pay for schoolteachers and was a tireless advocate for public education.
In 1914, she took the helm as superintendent of the Barren County Schools, becoming the first female public official in the county. She later served as principal of the Cave City School until 1923. While serving as principal of Scottsville High School in Allen County, her career in public education was cut short due to illness in 1931. Depp died of breast cancer in 1932 at the age of 57.
To learn more about Depp, visit monumentalwomenky.com.
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