Her hair isn’t flowing. Her figure is ambiguous.

“The Monarch,” a metal sculpture unveiled Monday at Memorial Union’s Hamel Family Browsing Library, isn’t meant to resemble conventional female beauty.

“I didn’t want her to be defined by her physical characteristics,” says artist and UW alum Victoria Reed [MFA ’16]. “I wanted her to be above that – free from that.”

The statue is a gift from the 2019 senior class, with support from the 4W Initiative (Women, Well-being, Wisconsin and the World), the UW Foundation and the Wisconsin Union that celebrates the 150th anniversary of women earning undergraduate degrees at UW–Madison.

The class will also make a gift to the In Her Honor Chancellor’s Fund. This fund will help support campus programs aim to promote gender equity, make life better for women, and make the world better for all.

“It’s great to be part of a platform elevating these issues,” says senior class communications director Mara Matovich.