The "Statue of Silence" is a heroic marble figure of a woman draped in a style which recalls antiquity. Created for the Masonic Hall in Manhattan, it was officially unveiled on May 15, 1876, according to an account in The New York Times and stood at the corner of 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in New York City. The gift is credited to R.:. W.:. Levi H. Willard, who commissioned the work of art and presented it to the Board of Trustees of the Masonic Home in Utica. It was the first important commission for an original work of art received by the young sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907).

Although signed and dated 1874, the marble statue actually was only completed in clay and cast in plaster in 1874. The marble carving was completed by Italian workmen in 1875.

By July 5, 1876, John Quincy Adams Ward, a prominent American sculptor, had seen the "Statue of Silence" at the Masonic Hall in New York. On the basis of his favorable impression, Ward recommended that Saint-Gaudens be given the commission for the Farragut Monument, which helped launch Saint-Gaudens' career as the most important America sculptor of the 19th century.