Sculpture by Lindsey Wilson University Art Professor Tim Smith Celebrates Legacy of Jane Todd Crawford

Bronze artwork pays tribute to Kentucky medical pioneer of the early 19th century.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (12/16/2025) — Lindsey Wilson University art professor Tim Smith has created a sculpture that honors one of Kenutcky's medical pioneers.

Smith's striking 11-foot bronze sculpture pays tribute to early 19th century resident Jane Todd Crawford of Green County. The artwork was unveiled Dec. 13 in front of the Greensburg, Kentucky, hospital that bears her name.

Dubbed the "Mother of Abdominal Surgery" by a bronze plaque in front of the statue, Crawford was a 46-year-old Green County resident who rode 60 miles over three days by horseback to Danville, Kentucky, to have a 22.5-pound ovarian tumor removed from her on Christmas Day 1809 by pioneer surgeon Dr. Ephraim McDowell. She was the first woman to survive surgery to remove an ovarian tumor.

The medical procedure lasted for 25 minutes on a kitchen table in McDowell's home and did not include anesthesia. Crawford returned home 25 days later and went on to live for another 32 years, dying at the age of 78 in 1842 in Graysville, Indiana.

'A very important story'

Smith said that his sculpture, which sits on a marble base in the center of a lighted pool and is designed to slowly rotate around three times an hour, tells "a very important story."

"It was a real honor to tell this story," said Smith, who has created several other public sculptures in the region.

Smith was originally approached by the Green County Art Council to create a sculpture to honor Crawford, who moved from Virginia to Green County in 1805. The initial plan was to place it in front of the Green County Courthouse, which would have been in use when Crawford and her husband, Thomas, resided in a log cabin on the Blue Spring Branch of Caney Fork, about eight miles south of Greensburg.

But then attention shifted to placing it in front of Jane Todd Crawford Hospital, which moved to its new location in October 2022.

Smith said it took about nine months for the sculpture to become a reality. But that came after he conducted research about Crawford, as well as captured pictures of horses from various angles, so he could create a work of art that paid tribute to his subject's strength and bravery.

"I can imagine the profound decision she had to make and the courage to do this, especially because the likelihood of success was unknown," he said.

Smith also wanted the sculpture to complement its environment.

"I'm really pleased with how it fits with the site and the area," he said.

Meanings in the sculpture

The sculpture, which depicts Crawford with a protrusion from her stomach while riding on horseback, is also imbued with symbolism that is open to interpretation. For example, a spiral that surrounds Crawford and her horse was intended to represent the Rod of Asclepius, medicine's international symbol. But Smith said that one observer also found another meaning in the element.

"One person said, 'Oh that's the journey, the path she took,'" he said. "It's kind of cool when there are a lot of things that can be interpreted a lot of different ways."

Daffodils and holly with berries appear at the sculpture's base.

"I read where they had found daffodil bulbs at the cabin where (the Crawfords) had lived," said Smith. "And the holly and the berries represent Christmas Day, when the surgery was performed."

Crawford and the horse are enclosed in an open frame, which is the continuation of an artistic theme Smith has explored in his public sculptures.

"The frames are based on a theme I've been working on as an artist for several years now," said Smith. "There's sort of an inside-outside, like looking through a window's reflections of self, and maybe how you're perceived, what's going on in the world around you."

Student, alumni contributions

Smith credited several Lindsey Wilson students and young alumni for helping make the sculpture a reality. Andrew Parson '06 allowed Smith to use his Green County shop after the project passed from the W.W. Slider Humanities Center art studio and Smith's garage. And art alumnus Isaac Cody, who is a professional welder, helped assemble the armature.

Throughout the process, Smith said he received help from several students.

"There was just a whole list of students who would help off and on, show up in the studio and serve as an extra pair of hands," he said.

Some Lindsey Wilson students, however, played roles in building the sculpture.

Jennifer Jimenez '24 helped with the project's initial design and digital work while serving as an intern, and during much of this calendar year art major Tezon Mitchell '27 of Greensburg was part of the project.

"I've never worked on anything like this before," said Mitchell, who started on the project in January and was involved with it until it was shipped in August to a foundry in Louisville, Kentucky. "It was hard to see where it was going to go from the beginning, but seeing it now is extremely cool. It was a really awesome experience for me because I've always been a big art guy."

Mitchel said one of the lessons from working on a project of this size and scope was how much preparation and research were involved.

"I learned that it takes a ton of preparation, and there are a lot of things that you can't prepare for at all when it comes to doing these types of projects," he said. "I've never worked on anything this big before, so it was a really big learning experience."

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