Art Institute of Chicago

Abraham Lincoln

Daniel Chester French (American, 1850–1931)

Date

Modeled 1912, cast after 1912

Medium

Bronze

Culture

United States

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Portraits of Abraham Lincoln—in sculpture, oil, print, and photography—were plentiful during the 16th president’s lifetime and grew in popularity in the decades after his death in 1865. Daniel Chester French was commissioned to create a monumental sculpture of Lincoln for the grounds of the Nebraska State Capitol building, subsequently producing smaller versions in bronze, including this work. French contributed to a powerful and enduring vision of Lincoln as a contemplative, deliberate leader. Here, Lincoln stands apart from the context and complexities that shaped a specific historical moment in the 19th century.

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