Sculpting History – Audio Tour

This recording is about two minutes. Welcome to the Valentine, a city history museum dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of the Richmond region. We hope you enjoy this audio recording for Sculpting History at the Valentine Studio: Art, Power and the “Lost Cause” American Myth. This audio guide includes descriptions of a selection of objects and the exhibition text. Walking directions will help you navigate through the studio space as you listen. To hear about the museum’s campus and amenities, continue listening to this recording. If you would like to begin exploring the exhibition now, skip to the next recording, “Outside the Valentine Studio”.   

The Valentine’s main campus is located in downtown Richmond and is comprised of a historic home, a garden and exhibition galleries. On the ground floor of the Valentine museum, you will find our lobby which includes our front desk and museum shop. A museum scavenger hunt for kids is available at the front desk. The Valentine’s ground floor includes two galleries, our core exhibition This is Richmond Virginia as well as changing exhibitions in the Stettinius Community Galleries. The museum’s ground floor also includes the Wickham House, a historic home built in 1812. A guided tour of the home is included with admission. On the ground level there are exits that lead to Clay Street, 10th Street, the Valentine garden and Valentine Studio. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the garden at any time during your visit. The museum’s lower level can be accessed by stairs or using an elevator. Here you will find restrooms and water fountains as well as additional exhibit galleries. There is also an emergency exit to the garden. Visitors to the museum are encouraged to take photos and ask our staff if you have any questions. All galleries and the Wickham House are stroller and wheelchair accessible. 

You are standing in front of an 1830s carriage house building that now houses the Sculpting history exhibition. The sand-colored building is two stories tall with dark red trim. The front of the building has three windows with shutters on the upper level, a closed red door at ground level, and large, red barn doors under an arched window at ground level on the right. The barn doors are open to show a set of glass doors. The left glass door has a sticker that says “Automatic Door, Caution. Activate switch to operate.” The automatic door switch is on a four-foot pole in front of the door on the left side. The right door has an exhibit title in white letters reading, Sculpting History Art, Power, and The Lost Cause American Myth. Below that are the words, “Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-5pm.” Under that is the Valentine logo in white, and underneath that is the website address, thevalentine.org with no spaces.  

This building served as the studio of Edward Virginius Valentine (1838-1930), a Richmond sculptor who created some of the most lasting public art of Confederate leaders. In 1936, the City of Richmond and Valentine Museum saved this building from demolition, moving it here. 

In this studio, Valentine sketched, molded, and cast art that supported the narrative of the Lost Cause from 1871-1926. As the first president of the Valentine Museum, Edward Valentine shaped the museum’s initial collection that celebrated white stories and actively devalued the histories of Black and Indigenous people.  

By understanding his art, we can understand the national Lost Cause narrative he helped craft. 

You will enter the Studio using the door on the left. Once you are inside the Studio, play Stop #3.  

As you enter the darkened space there are 5 tables around the room. Each table represents a type of power that helped disseminate the Lost Cause Myth. Straight ahead is a large wall with a display of art covered by a thin screen.  A projection is showing on the front of the screen and some of the artwork behind it is lit up at various points during the silent 15-minute projection. To the very far left is a Community table that asks visitors to answer a question and submit their answer on a postcard and displays some visitor responses. 

During this audio description tour, you will move around the space and hear highlights from each section of the exhibit. 

Turn to the left and face the wall in front of you for the beginning of the exhibition. Then advance your audio tour to Stop #4.  

This wall is titled Sculpting History at the Valentine Studio: Art, Power, and the Lost Cause American Myth. Sculpting History is in yellow letters and the rest of the letters are white. Lost Cause is in quotes. Quotes from the 1800s are in large yellow font while the exhibit text is in a smaller white font. A photograph of Edward Valentine is on the right.  

The text reads… 

“All that is left of the South is the ‘war of ideas.’” – Edward Pollard, The Lost Cause: A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates, published in Richmond, 1866   

How does fiction become an accepted truth? 

Even before the Civil War was over, Confederate supporters wrestled with how they would be remembered. They crafted a story to frame themselves in a heroic light, rewriting the facts of history. Their myth became known as the Lost Cause.  

The Lost Cause was a campaign to convince the public that: 

1) The war was fought to protect Southern states’ rights, not the institution of slavery.
2) Slavery was a beneficial social structure for both enslavers and the enslaved.
3) The South’s role in the war was not a treasonous act against the United States. 

How do we know it was a lie? How do you find the truth? 

Those who created the Lost Cause narrative used cultural and social centers of power to make it successful: education, media, politics, money, religion, and violence. This exhibition uses evidence to show how Edward Valentine, leaders in Richmond, and others around the country reframed the reality of the Civil War. It uncovers the stories behind the Lost Cause, its legacy, and those who resisted the myth. 

To the right of the text is a photograph of Edward Valentine standing in his studio. He is wearing an all-black suit, with a white shirt. His hair is short and gray. He has a short gray beard. To the side and behind him are shelves of sculpting tools, busts, and statuettes. Some items are hung on the wall. 

On the floor are boxes and tools. 

From where you are standing, turn to the left and move straight ahead to the Media table. 

On the table are several sections of text and pictures. In the middle of the table are two caricature busts encased in plexiglass. To the right of the plexiglass is a recessed compartment, covered by plexiglass, that holds an orange box of Uncle Ben’s Rice, a white plate with the caricature of a Black boy eating a piece of watermelon, and an empty bottle of Aunt Jemima Syrup with a picture of a black woman’s smiling face. A mesh banner rising from the back of the table shows a masthead from a Black newspaper.  

The text reads. 

How does the media you consume affect your beliefs? 

Media is more than the news. It’s what we see in advertising, music, art, and in everyday products we buy. For decades, the media of the Lost Cause became the background of American life. The bars of “Dixie” rang out, blackface minstrel shows were popular, and monuments to Confederates loomed over public streets. Who holds the power to decide what is printed, sculpted, or sold? 

Edward Valentine, like most artists, put what he believed into the objects he created, whether the figure of a Confederate politician meant for public display or the caricature of a Black man displayed in a private home. His work, like other white media of his time, echoed the deceptive beliefs of the Lost Cause that celebrated pro-Confederate narratives and villainized Black Americans. 

Yet, media can also expand our perception. In the 1800s, Frederick Douglass was the most photographed man in America, creating a wealth of media that presented the dignity of Black men. Today, social media can allow many more voices to be heard. 

As you face the table, in the middle is a sepia-toned faded photograph of a young, Black boy. He is wearing an open jacket with a white shirt underneath. His pants are tucked into his calf-high black boots. His head is cocked to the right, and he wears a dark cadet cap. The expression on his face is neutral. 

Above the photograph is a plaster bust of a young Black boy. He is wearing a shirt with holes and tears in it. His head is cocked to the left. He is also wearing a brimmed hat. 

He is smiling broadly, showing his teeth. His nose and lips are exaggerated. The base of the statue reads “The Nation’s Ward” and “Modeled (?) by Edward Valentine, Richmond, Virginia. 

The text reads. 

Profit Motives 

Edward Valentine modeled The Nation’s Ward in 1868 based on a young boy, pictured here, who unloaded coal into Valentine’s studio. We do not know his name. Although the child was there to work, Valentine labeled him a ‘ward’ (or burden) and showed him with exaggerated features and ragged clothes.  

The sculpture title, The Nation’s Ward, is central to a Lost Cause argument in favor of unequal treatment and Jim Crow laws: Black men, women, and children could not be responsible for themselves – they were the nation’s wards. Valentine sold these busts for $22 (~$466 in 2023) for display in parlors across the country. 

On the right side of the table are two newspaper articles. On the bottom left is a Richmond Times Dispatch article dated May 6, 1900. The headline reads, “Need of New Constitution for Virginia.” Next to the headline is a drawing of a white man. At the bottom it reads, “The Elimination of the Negro Vote”. 

On the upper right is an article from the Richmond Planet dated July 5, 1902. In the upper left corner is The Planet’s logo which is the muscular arm of a Black man wearing a white shirt with his fist raised. As lightning bolts emanate from his fist, they form the words, “The Planet”.  

The text reads. 

“I have aligned The Times with the white supremacy cause.”
-Richmond publisher Joseph Bryan, 1898 

Influence Through the News 

Television producers and social media algorithms dominate our news media today. But  in the early 1900s, white newspaper men used their power and influence to support Lost Cause myths like the idea that Black Americans were inferior to white Americans.  

Richmond Times publisher Joseph Bryan wrote that he had “aligned The Times with the white supremacy cause” and called for a new constitution. Ultimately, white Virginian politicians adopted the 1902 Virginia Constitution that reduced white male suffrage by 50% and Black male suffrage by 90%. John Mitchell, Jr., editor of the Richmond Planet, a Black newspaper, resisted its passage, calling it the “unconstitutional” Convention. 

Where do you get your news? 

From here turn to your left and move to the Politics and Money table ahead of you. Go around the table to the left to begin this section. 

On this table there are sections of text and pictures. Directly in front of you is a bust of a bearded man with “Mahone” on the base with a mat encased in plexiglass. Directly behind this bust on the other side of the table is the smaller bust of a woman, also encased in plexiglass. A mesh banner rising from the center of the table depicts a Black woman, Maggie Walker, and two black men standing behind the counter of St. Luke Penny Saving’s Bank. 

The text reads. 

How does money support political power? 

 After the Civil War ended in 1865, financially, the South was in ruin. Socially, the racial hierarchy had been upended. Politically, power was shifting and no one knew what would come next. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution outlawed slavery, granted equal rights to all citizens, and ensured the right to vote for all races. While the political houses of the South finally began to represent its people, outlooks for the future were a mix of hope and apprehension.  

From 1867 to 1899, 107 Black Virginian men served as state and federal legislators. It was a dream realized for many formerly enslaved, but it wouldn’t last. After 30 years, racially motivated leaders used money and politics to take back power – suppressing the Black vote and influencing public thinking with racist ideals. 

Over time, despite oppressive conditions, Black Virginians mobilized economically and politically to gain more representation and dignified treatment in their community.  

“It takes money to run the machine.” – Virginia Governor Andrew Jackson Montague, 1911 

Stay here for Stop #9. 

The sculpture of William Mahone is made of plaster. It shows him from the shoulders up. He is wearing a confederate uniform, including a cap. His facial features are sharp. His moustache is long and curved on each side. His chest-length beard is separated in the middle. 

The text reads. 

A New Political Party 

Founded in 1879, the Readjuster Party was a short-lived biracial coalition of Republicans, Black leaders, and former Confederates who were not satisfied with the slow pace of recovery after the War. Confederate General William Mahone was one of them.   

In 1881, Mahone became a United States Senator. He doled out jobs like postmaster and county clerk to Black and white Readjusters around Virginia, helping them win the 1881 governor’s race. In two years, Readjusters outlawed the whipping post, abolished the poll tax that blocked many from voting, and adjusted Virginia’s debt to pay for services like Black public schools, including Virginia State University.  

The Readjuster Party’s influence came to an end when, days before the 1883 election, conservative Democrats incited a race riot in Danville. Newspapers pinned the violence on Danville’s Black Readjuster leaders. The Democrats won, and conservative leadership ruled in Virginia until the 1970s. 

Turn to the left and move around to the other side of the table. 

Directly in front of you is a small plaster bust of Maggie L. Walker. She is wearing a scoop-neck top. On her chest is a pin that has an ornate cross on it. She is wearing a strand of pearls around her neck. Her facial features are small, except for her nose which is slightly larger. Her straight hair is brushed back. She is grinning and looking up. The base is inscribed with her name, Maggie L. Walker.  

The text reads. 

Nourishing Black Businesses  

“The lion of prejudice is ever ready to strike down the Negro.” – Maggie Walker, March 1, 1906 

After the Civil War, white-owned institutions aggressively blocked Black progress. Maggie Walker sought to overcome these obstacles. She enabled Black self-sufficiency and helped Richmond’s Jackson Ward become known as Black Wall Street. She established a newspaper, a store, and was the first Black woman to charter a bank in America. 

Today, Black Richmonders, like the JXN Project and JWC Foundation, continue to uplift this history. The JWC Foundation supports current and aspiring Black business owners and echoes the “spirit of Black entrepreneurship throughout the Richmond region.” 

Turn to your left and move to the end of the table, turn to your right around the corner of the table, and then go straight ahead to the Religion table. 

On this table is a maquette, or small preliminary model, of a Confederate general lying down.  There is also a bust of a Black minister. Both sculptures are encased in plexiglass. Photos and text are printed on the table. A banner rising from the back of the table to the ceiling shows the front of Richmond’s First African Baptist Church with columns, a pediment, and a squat spire topped with a cross. 

The text reads. 

How are religion and race connected?  

“God is not interested merely in the freedom of black men, and brown men, and yellow men; God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., speech at Southern Methodist University, 1966 

In 1786, Virginia officially separated politics and religious belief with the Statute for Religious Freedom. Yet, while America’s founders argued for full religious freedom, Christian beliefs still dominated the social and political culture. 

In the years after the Civil War, white Christian churches were centers for community, inspiration, and socializing.  Some churches also helped popularize the Lost Cause. Protestant ministers argued that God and the Bible had supported slavery. Christian ministers prayed at Confederate monument dedications. Believers sang Christian hymns like “How Firm a Foundation” at Confederate meetings and events.  

Religious belief has also been the moral center of resistance to the lies of the Lost Cause. National and local religious leaders used the church and other houses of worship to build solidarity beyond class and race, working to unify instead of separating. 

The maquette is a small plaster sculpture of a man lying on a bed. The bed is on a plinth. The man is wearing a military uniform. A blanket is pulled up to his waist. His left foot is sticking out from under the blanket.  His right arm is across his chest. He is wearing a glove. His left hand is resting a sword. His hair is parted on the left. He has a moustache and short beard. His eyes are closed. 

The text reads. 

Confederates in Church  

By the 1890s, many white churches across Virginia celebrated the defeated Confederacy and its Lost Cause ideology with images, plaques, and sculptures. 

In Lexington, Virginia, Edward Valentine’s Recumbent Lee, depicts Robert E. Lee as a sleeping Confederate general. Installed in 1883, it sat directly behind the pulpit in the chapel of Washington and Lee University. And still does today.  

What symbols should be in a house of worship? 

Turn to the right and move around to the next side of the table. 

On the table is a black and white photograph of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowry, and Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. The three men are sitting and huddled together in conversation. They are wearing suits and ties, except for Lowery who wears a bow tie. 

Above the photograph and encased in plexiglass is a bronze-colored bust of Rev. John Jasper. He is wearing a suitcoat and vest. Around his neck is a thin bowtie. He wears a short beard and is bald on the top of his head. 

The text reads. 

Freedom of Faith  

Prior to the Civil War, Virginia law required white ministers to supervise Black congregations out of fear that Black leaders would incite a rebellion. After the war, James H. Holmes became the first Black minister of Richmond’s First African Baptist Church,71 and Peter Randolph took charge of Ebenezer Baptist Church. John Jasper founded Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in 1867. These congregations nurtured their members’ spiritual needs as well as civil rights, literacy, and job training.   

Nearly a century later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist preacher, served as the first President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and met at Richmond’s First African Baptist in 1963 to discuss boycotts and voter registration drives.

Turn to your right and move to the Violence table.  

On this table are sections of text and pictures. In the center under plexiglass is a sculpture of a Greek woman in robes holding her son. On the table and to the right of the sculpture is another glass case with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters. Rising from the back of the table to the ceiling is a mesh banner with a picture of the Emancipation and Freedom Monument depicting a Black woman with her arm raised and the back of a man breaking free from chains. 

The text reads. 

Why do we use violence? 

Black Americans have faced physical, emotional, and psychological brutality throughout American history, from sexual violence to lynching, ballot box intimidation to disproportionate police killings.

Before and after the Civil War, many white Americans reframed the violent system of American slavery as an innocent, paternal institution. Supporters of the Lost Cause myth, like the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Ku Klux Klan, condoned violence against Black Americans. They justified these acts with the false beliefs that the purity of white women needed to be protected, while ignoring the actual violence inflicted on Black women.    

In an environment where standing up for one’s self was met with severe violence, Black activists and leaders were required to consistently and bravely hold their ground in the fight for equality. 

“Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” ― Malcolm X, March 12, 1964 

“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967 

Stay here for Stop #15. 

In this photograph are 10 men in white KKK robes and hoods standing in a line in Stuart Circle on Monument Ave. There are 6 men in dark coats and hats standing with them. Behind them are three vehicles circa 1920. They all have signs that have “KKK” visible. The truck in the front has a banner that says, “Christmas Cheer, Richmond klan-I” Behind the group is a statue of J.E.B. Stuart on a horse. In the far background is a large, white building that has 10 stories. There are rows of windows on each floor along the front and sides of the building. The photographer’s name, Holladay, is printed in the bottom right corner. 

The text reads. 

Threats & Intimidation  

Groups like the Ku Klux Klan intimidated Black in Richmond through burning crosses in the yards of Black residents, parading around Confederate monuments, and leaving ominous graffiti. 

 The threat of violence from a group known for lynching and other violent acts was a way to intimidate Black people from participating in elections, working to integrate schools, or pursuing social equity. 

Stay here for Stop #16. 

In the plexiglass case on the table are four rubber bullets and three teargas canister parts mounted on thin, black dowels. 

The text reads. 

Police Violence  

Police violence against citizens has a long history in Richmond and across the country that persists in the 21st century. In 2018, Richmond officers shot and killed an unarmed Black man named Marcus-David Peters. After a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, many Richmonders turned Lee Circle into a community space, calling it Marcus-David Peters Circle. On June 1, 2020, police shot these rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at peaceful protesters. 

Turn to the left and go straight ahead to the Education table. 

There are sections of text and pictures. On the center part of the table is an elevated plexiglass case that houses a small sculpture and a maquette both depicting a young Black boy. Next to the case on the right is a recessed compartment that holds school ribbons and a medal from the Richmond Colored Normal School and black and white photograph of Virginia Union University. From the left side of the table a mesh banner rises to the ceiling with a picture of two Black girls, Gloria Mead and Carol Swann, walking up steps into Richmond’s Chandler Junior High School.  

The text reads. 

Who decides what we learn about the past? 

Americans believe the story of the Lost Cause because many learned it in school. Generations of children heard a false version of Civil War history: slavery was necessary and beneficial for enslaved Africans, and the war was fought not to preserve slavery but to protect states’ rights to secede from the Union.  

By reframing slavery’s horrors and financial profit as “states’ rights,” private organizations, schools, and museums, including the Valentine, popularized the Lost Cause mythology. Families then also passed on the false Lost Cause history from generation to generation. 

  Yet, students and teachers can change education. After decades of myths filling textbooks, change has slowly come. The Lost Cause is no longer officially taught, but unequal treatment and deceiving messages still are debated today.   

What were you taught about the American Civil War in school? 

“If statues are to be erected, they must be a defense of the Southern Cause as much as histories and school books.” 

-Edward Valentine to UDC member Agnes Marshall Chew, around 1900 

Stay here for Stop #18. 

The plaster sculpture to the left depicts a young, Black male student who is seated in a chair. He is wearing a suit with a waist coat and vest. Though he has an open book in his hand, he is slumped over and sleeping with his mouth open. 

Next to that is a smaller clay maquette of a young, Black male student. He is wearing the same type of suit as the sculpture and is seated in a chair. He is intently looking at his open book and has his arm raised.  

The text reads. 

Crafting Stereotypes 

Before 1865, Black education was illegal in much of the South. After the Civil War, Edward Valentine crafted Knowledge is Power, which supported the Lost Cause myth that Black people were intellectually inferior and not worthy of publicly funded education. His original version of the piece (maquette) shows a focused student looking down, raising his arm. The final work displays a sleeping boy, a choice by Valentine to display Black children as disengaged and lazy. 

Stay here for Stop #19. 

In the middle of the table is a picture from a textbook. It reads,” Chapter 19, How the Negroes Lived under Slavery.” The picture depicts the deck of a ship. In the fore ground is a white man with ropes in hands. Behind him is a Black family dressed in nice clothes The father wears a suit and hat; the mother wears a long dress and bonnet; and the children are also dressed in nice travel clothes.  The mother and two girls are standing behind the Father who is holding his son’s hand with his right hand while shaking the hand of a white man with his left hand. A young Black man stands behind the white man. He is carrying a suitcase. 

The text reads. 

Changing History  

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and others used their power and influence to ensure textbooks throughout the United States presented slavery as an innocent institution and provided a sympathetic view of the Civil War.  

In 1932, Virginia adopted a textbook that labeled slavery as the cause for the Civil War, but the UDC’s successful letter-writing campaign resulted in the book being pulled from Virginia schools in 1938. The next generation of history books presented slavery positively, not as a system of kidnapping, forced labor, sexual violence, and murder. 

“Life among the Negroes of Virginia during slavery times was generally happy.” – Simkins, Jones, & Poole, Virginia: History, Government, Geography, 1964  

Stay here for Stop #20. 

Inside of the recessed compartment are two ribbons about two inches wide and roughly 9 inches in length. One is purple, one is green, and both read “Richmond Colored Normal School…First Honor” in gold text.  

There is also a bronze medal with the profile of a man in the center. 

To the right of the ribbons is a black and white photograph of Pickford Hall on the campus of Virginia Union University. The building is made of granite. It has three floors. On the right and left are porches with steps and three arches across the front. The middle section has three rows of windows. On each side of the middle is a turret that also has windows. An unpaved road runs in front of the building. 

The text reads. 

The First Black Schools  

“The future prospects of the Negro for acquiring wealth and education, for receiving due recognition and power, are bright and glorious.” – Capt. Robert A. Paul, Richmond School Board Member, 1885 

When slavery ended, Black people sought education in droves – dispelling the myth of intellectual inferiority. In 1867, the Freedmen’s Bureau established the Richmond Colored Normal School, the first public high school for Black students in the city. Schools like Virginia Union University were also founded after emancipation, providing greater opportunity for Black education.  

Over the decades, these schools played a powerful role in uplifting Black Americans, including Richmond icons like John Mitchell, Jr., and Maggie Walker, both entrepreneurs and politicians. 

Turn around toward the projection playing on the screen that covers artworks by Edward Valentine on the back wall opposite the door. 

The entire wall contains a shelving unit with a screen on the front that has a 15-minute silent projection on it. The video plays a loop of photographs, animations and quotations that all consider the question “How do history and art influence politics and power?” 

 At various points during the projection, some of the 84 artworks on the shelves are lit up so they can be seen through the screen. The multimedia loop has three chapters with a moment in between each chapter when the backlit artworks are visible.  

The three chapters are: 

• Chapter 1: Edward Valentine’s sculptural works 
• Chapter 2: Analysis of his artistic choices and their meanings 
• Chapter 3: Timeline of Richmond history and Lost Cause artwork  

Turn to the left and move toward the wall. 

On the wall above a ledge is a quote in large orange text, ““Human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art.” -Ursula K. Le Guin, 2014” Below that is smaller white text posing the question “Americans created, changed, and resisted the Lost Cause myth with their power. How can we use our powers to sculpt a better future? On the wall to the right and behind plexiglass are postcards filled out by previous visitors answering the question. The projecting ledge has two wells on the left for blank postcards and pencils as well as a slot on the right to place your completed postcard.  

This concludes your tour. Thank you for joining us for Sculpting History Art, Power, and the Lost Cause American Myth. We encourage you to provide feedback about your experience to the Visitor Services Associate when you return your device.