The monument was unveiled on March 6, 1939, in the park opposite Kyiv University, on the site of the former monument to Tsar Nicholas I. The opening was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, and on the same occasion, the University was named in his honor.

The bronze figure of the poet, 6.45 meters high, was cast at the Leningrad Artistic Casting Plant from a model by sculptor Matvii Manizer and set upon a red granite pedestal measuring 7.3 meters in height, designed by architect Yevhen Levinson.

The bronze statue stands on a low artificial mound, approached by a five-flight staircase from the park’s main entrance, both the steps and the stylobate made of bush-hammered granite. On the front face of the rectangular pedestal is the inscription:
“T. H. Shevchenko. 1814–1861”,
and beneath it are lines from the poet’s “Testament” (Zapovit) engraved in stone.

The monument remains one of the most prominent landmarks of Kyiv, symbolizing the spiritual and cultural heritage of Ukraine’s national poet.