On the morning of July 13

     Over 2,000 master sculptors were considered for the commission which was ultimately awarded to Fort Lauderdale native Nilda Comas. Comas, who graduated cum laude with a master’s in fine arts from the New York Academy of Figurative Art, has received numerous grants and awards. Her works have been exhibited in the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens – Palm Beach, Florida; The National Sculpture Society – New York; The New York Academy; Academia de Bella Arti di Carrara – Italy; Chiostro di Sant’ Agostino – Italy; and the Westminster Gallery -London. Her works also reside in many public and private collections in the United States, Europe, and South America. Comas’ interpretation of Bethune is entitled “The Black Rose. ‘’ It is a commanding 11-foot statue atop a five-foot pedestal and weighs more than 6,000 pounds. It was created using the largest, and last, piece of statuary marble from Michelangelo’s quarry in Italy where Comas maintains a second studio. […]