Replica of Baltimore's Columbus statue placed at White House

Chevall Pryce, The Baltimore Sun on Mar 22, 2026

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After years of controversy surrounding the original’s initial dumping into Baltimore’s harbor six years ago, a replica of a Christopher Columbus sculpture was placed on the White House grounds on Sunday, according to numerous reports.

The Columbus sculpture was said to have been placed on the White House campus after The Washington Post reported that officials designated an area for it. When contacted by The Baltimore Sun, the White House did not confirm the information, and at the time there was no timeline or formal approval of the sculpture. The status now occupies an area by the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

“We’ve had it ready for about three years now,” Tilghman Hemsley, the creator of the statue, told The Baltimore Sun in February. “I haven’t had any official notice to do anything with it yet. At this point, we’re waiting to hear where it’s going to go.”

Basil Russo, president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, said the statue’s restoration was important for recognizing Columbus Day’s creation as an attempt to promote Italian acceptance following the lynching of 11 Italians in New Orleans in 1891.

The organization gifted the statue to the White House.

“Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,” Russo said. “or over a century, Columbus’s legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country.”

The original sculpture of Columbus was dumped into the harbor in 2020 amidst civil unrest caused by the deaths of George Floyd and other Black people by police violence that year. Supporters of the statue’s destruction at the time cited Columbus’ enslavement of indigenous people as the reason it was dumped in the harbor. The pair completed the replica in 2022.

The 13-foot replica Columbus sculpture was built by father and son, Tilghman and Will Hemsley, who constructed it from pieces of the statue retrieved from Baltimore’s Harbor by a dive team hired by Tilghman. The Hemsleys also built another replica of the Columbus sculpture, using pieces from the original construction.

“We brought it out of the harbor and reconstructed it, rebuilt it,” Tilghman said. “So, it’s not really our artwork, but we were instrumental in putting it back together. It’s like Humpty Dumpty.”

The statue was originally placed in Baltimore’s Little Italy in 1984. It was revealed by President Ronald Reagan and Baltimore Mayor William Schaefer after it was gifted by Italian American Organizations United.

President Donald Trump thanked Russo and COPOMIAO for gifting the statue to him, praising Christopher Columbus and mentioned another statue that came with the Columbus statue, Freedom’s Charge.

“Christopher Columbus was the original American hero and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth,” Trump said in a letter to Russo. “I am truly honored that this magnificent statue will now sit on the grounds of the White House.”

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