Robert Smalls​ escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship and became a top Union naval officer and South Carolina lawmaker.

Artist Basil Watson is creating the first statue of an African American, Civil War hero Robert Smalls, to be placed on South Carolina's Statehouse grounds.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Basil Watson emigrated to the United States in 2002, setting up a home and studio in Lawrenceville. In addition to creating the local Hope Moving Forward monument of the ...

Sculptor Basil Watson said, “The monument is about togetherness, about moving forward together. Harriet and Lewis worked in tandem. That was important.” ...

Mr Watson is originally from Jamaica but has worked in Atlanta for the last two decades. “I am very proud and find it a distinct honor to be chosen to reflect John Lewis,” Mr Watson told ...

Work crews gently rested the 12-foot-tall (3.7-meter-tall) statue into place as the internationally acclaimed sculptor, Basil Watson, looked on carefully.

It was a brief encounter, but as with nearly everyone who ever met the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the meeting was impactful. It was 2005 at an art fair and sculptor Basil Watson, just three years ...

World-renowned artist Basil Watson is tasked with capturing the soul and spirit of Lewis in a statue, which will be displayed in Decatur Square.

A model by Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson for a statue the University of South Carolina commissioned him to create honoring Henrie Monteith Treadwell, Robert Anderson and James Solomon Jr., the ...

Work crews gently rested the 12-foot-tall statue into place as the internationally acclaimed sculptor, Basil Watson, looked on carefully. “It’s exciting to see it going up and exciting ...

World-renowned artist Basil Watson was chosen to create a statue of Lewis in Decatur Square. The John Lewis Commemorative Task Force made the announcement Thursday night.