Shevchenko (1814-1861) was a Ukrainian poet, born a serf, who was sentenced to prison for his writings, where he died after four years' confinement. Not particularly well-known in the United States, he seems to have been selected on the basis of one line in which he expresses the wish that the Ukraine had a George Washington.

The statue was commissioned by a group of Ukrainian nationalists and was unveiled by President Eisenhower. Selections from his poetry appear on the steles that make up the rest of the memorial.