GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - History is being molded by hand this week inside the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer.

Visitors are getting a front-row seat as renowned sculptor Benjamin Victor brings a new piece called "Pawnee Mother" to life, right in the heart of the museum.

Victor is the only living artist with four statues in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, including Nebraska’s Chief Standing Bear which was unveiled in 2019.

Now he’s back in Nebraska for a special “micro-residency,” creating a sculpture commissioned by the Stuhr Museum Foundation and funded by the Wilson family, in memory of longtime museum volunteers Jack and Marilyn Wilson.

“It ties to the Pawnee Earth Lodge that was recently reconstructed,” said Stuhr Museum Foundation Executive Director Bonnie Smith. “The sculpture will honor both the Pawnee people and the donors who made that project possible.”

The Pawnee Earth Lodge has long been one of Stuhr’s most-visited exhibits, drawing tens of thousands of schoolchildren each year.

The new Pawnee Mother statue will eventually stand near the exhibit, and will serve as both an educational symbol and a permanent tribute.

For Victor, the weeklong residency is more than a chance to sculpt. It’s a way to connect art, community and Nebraska’s layered history.

“It worked out perfectly,” Victor said. “How amazing would it be to sculpt this live here in Nebraska? It’s been wonderful.”

On Saturday, Pawnee models will pose live for the sculpture alongside her mother.

Victor says their participation represents the living heritage of the Pawnee people that the artwork seeks to honor.

“It’s just been really fun to get into the process,” Victor said. “Nebraska feels like a home away from home for me. I always jump at the chance to come back.”

Once the clay work is finished, Victor will return to his Idaho studio to cast the piece in bronze before its permanent installation along the Pawnee Earth Lodge pathway.

The live sculpting sessions continue through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.