The 1889 statue depicts Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sitting in a chair and Alice Cogswell standing at his side.

Students at Gallaudet University objected to a hearing sculptor create the sculpture and lobbied for Albert Victor Ballin, who was deaf, to receive the commission.

[3] Additionally, Ballin came with the recommendation of American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who was also French's artistic rival.

During the enlargement process, French reworked the chair that Gallaudet sits on as well as the position of his right arm.

[6] A replica of the statue is located at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut.