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June 7 (UPI) -- A bronze sculpture of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather was unveiled Wednesday in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. Cather, who died in 1947, is remembered for stories about the Great Plains and her novels O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark and My Ántonia.
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She won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a novel partially set in Nebraska during World War I, and she later spoke during the 1933 Pulitzer Prize ceremony in New York City.
Cather graduated from the University of Nebraska while the school's military department was run by Gen. John J. Pershing, who headed American forces during World War I.
She famously prohibited any film adaptations of her work and the publishing of her personal correspondence.
The bronze statue honors Cather and her home state of Nebraska among the 100 figures from the 50 states.
"It's a great day to be a Nebraskan," Nebraska Gov. James Pillen said during Wednesday's ceremony, later quoting the famous author: "Where there is great love, there are always miracles."
Several other elected officials from Nebraska attended the ceremony.
"Willa Cather's formative years in Red Cloud, Neb., introduced her to the Plains and those who made them their home," said Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb.
"A number of her works featured honest and rich retellings of the challenges faced by Nebraskans in our intimate relationship to the land," Smith said.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unveiled the sculpture, which will be seen by the millions of visitors to the U.S. Capitol each year.
A statue honoring Amelia Earhart of Kansas was added to the hall last year as was a statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator and civil rights activist from Florida.
