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December 3, 2015


U.S. Senate Unveils Marble Bust of Vice President Richard B. Cheney
Image: Unveiling Ceremony for Vice President Richard Cheney's marble bust
Image: Unveiling Ceremony for Vice President Richard Cheney's marble bust

On this date, the Senate unveiled a marble bust of Vice President Richard B. Cheney in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Senators Roy Blunt and Charles E. Schumer, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, hosted the ceremony attended by Vice President Cheney, his family, and more than 200 guests. Among the featured speakers at the ceremony was President George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president of the United States and tapped Cheney as his vice president.

Dick Cheney served as the 46th vice president of the United States, and his likeness in marble was commissioned for the Senate’s Vice Presidential Bust Collection. The collection chronicles the individuals who have served as vice president and pays tribute to their role as president of the Senate.

Sculptor William Behrends met with the vice president on numerous occasions to take measurements and refine details of a full-sized clay model, which was then cast in plaster. The plaster model served to guide the carving of the marble bust. The finished work was approved by Vice President Cheney and accepted by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration in the fall of 2015. Today, the bust of Vice President Cheney resides in the second floor connecting corridor of the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol.