Blackstone

Sir William Blackstone (1723–1780) was an English jurist, judge, and the first professor of law at Oxford University, but he is best  known for the book he is depicted holding here: Commentaries on the Laws of England, a crucial treatise on English common law and a foundational text for the American legal system. At the time of its publication, common law was in its infancy and had not yet been universally adopted. All of the formative documents in the founding of the United States—including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and early Supreme Court decisions—were built upon concepts first presented in Blackstone’s Commentaries. Even today, the Supreme Court cites the Commentaries in its opinions.

The American Bar Association commissioned this sculpture as a gift to the English Bar Association. However, at nine feet tall, it was deemed too large to stand in the Great Hall of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. As a result, a smaller copy of the sculpture was created for the English Bar Association, and the sculptor gifted the original to the United States in 1943. Sir William Blackstone was moved to the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse upon the building’s completion in 1954.