3D-printed Thomas Jefferson statue arrives at The Valentine

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A 3D-printed sculpture of Thomas Jefferson was delivered and installed at The Valentine First Freedom Center on Thursday.

Religious Freedom Day is Saturday, Jan 16, which is the day that the Virginia General Assembly adopted Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786.

The Valentine has had three versions of the Thomas Jefferson statue. The ‘original plaster statue’ dated back to 1895 but was recently loaned out to the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation. The ‘original Thomas Jefferson statue’ stands at the Jefferson Hotel and has been there since the early 1900s.

The 3-D sculpture was completed just in time to be installed before Religious Freedom Day and an 8News crew was there to capture the installation on camera.

Christina Vida, The Valentine’s curator, says the Thomas Jefferson statue is based on an Edward Valentine original.

“The plastic sculpture is fairly fragile and we wanted to make sure it was preserved for future generations but folks could still come to see a version of it,” Vida said. “So, the 3D-printed version was just an excellent option for it.”

You can see the statue yourself with self-guided tours for Religious Freedom Day at The Valentine First Freedom Center beginning on Saturday, Jan. 16.