Will Rogers (Davidson) Will Rogers (Davidson) Will Rogers is a statue created by Jo Davidson, two versions of which were unveiled in 1938. Shortly after entertainer and social commentator Will Rogers was killed in an airplane crash on August 15, 1935, the state of Oklahoma passed a bill to authorize that its second statue for the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. be one of Will Rogers. On the recommendation of Betty Rogers, Will Rogers' wife, the sculptor Jo Davidson was awarded the commission. Davidson and Rogers had known each other for a number of years, during
Will Rogers Congress". Of the statues in this part of the Capitol, the Rogers sculpture is the only one facing the Chamber entrance. According to Capitol guides, each US president rubs the left shoe of the Rogers statue for good luck before entering the House Chamber to give the State of the Union address. A state appropriation paid for the work. It was sculpted in clay by Jo Davidson. He had been a close friend of Rogers. Davidson had the work cast in bronze in Brussels, Belgium. Dedicated on June 6, 1939, before a crowd of more than 2,000 people, the statue