Abraham Lincoln: The Man (also called Standing Lincoln) is a larger-than-life size 12-foot (3.7 m) bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The original statue is in Lincoln Park in Chicago, and later re-castings of the statue have been given as diplomatic gifts from the United States to the United Kingdom, and to Mexico.
Completed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1887, it has been described as the most important sculpture of Lincoln from the 19th century.[1] At the time, the New York Evening Post called it "the most important achievement American sculpture has yet produced."[2] Abraham Lincoln II, Lincoln's only grandson, was present, among a crowd of 10,000, at the initial unveiling.[3] The artist later created the Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State ('Seated Lincoln') sculpture in Chicago's Grant Park.
The sculpture depicts a contemplative Lincoln rising from a chair of state[a], about to give a speech. It is set upon a pedestal and, in Chicago, an exedra designed by architect Stanford White.[5] White's setting includes carved and bronze caste excerpts of Lincoln's writings.[b] Chicago businessman Eli Bates (1806–1881) provided $40,000 in his will for the statue. Saint-Gaudens was specially selected for the commission after a design competition failed to produce a winning artist.[c] Saint-Gaudens, who revered the President, had seen Lincoln at the time of his inauguration, and later viewed Lincoln's body lying in state. For his design, the artist also relied on a life mask and hand casts made of Lincoln in 1860 by Leonard W. Volk.[2] While planning and working on the Standing Lincoln, Saint-Gaudens was first enticed to what would become his home and studio, and an associated artist's colony. To convince him to vacation near Cornish, New Hampshire, a friend told him the area had "many Lincoln-shaped men".[6]
The sculpture's naturalism influenced a generation of artists.[1] One sculptor Standing Lincoln significantly influenced was Daniel Chester French, who would go on to create the Lincoln statute at the Lincoln Memorial in 1920.[4] The monument was also a favorite of Hull House founder Jane Addams, who once wrote, "I walked the wearisome way from Hull-House to Lincoln Park ... in order to look at and gain magnanimous counsel from the statue."[7] Journalist Andrew Ferguson discusses the statue at length in his book Land of Lincoln, writing that the statue presents "a sort of world-weariness that seems almost kind".[3] The City of Chicago awarded the monument landmark status on December 12, 2001.[1] It is located near the Chicago History Museum and North Avenue.
Replicas of the statue stand at Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois, Parque Lincoln in Mexico City, and Parliament Square in London.[2][8][9] The Parliament Square statue was given to Britain in July 1920. The American Ambassador made a formal presentation at Central Hall, Westminster, where Prime Minister David Lloyd George accepted the gift on behalf of the people of Britain; after a procession to Parliament Square, the statue was unveiled by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.[9][10] The Mexico City statue was presented by United States President Lyndon Johnson to the people of Mexico in 1964.[6][11] Later, Johnson received a small copy of the bust from the statue, which since then is often seen displayed in the Oval Office of the White House.[6] In 2016, a newly cast replica of the full-height statue was installed in the garden at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish.[12]
From 1910 onwards, Saint-Gaudens' widow, Augusta, oversaw the casting of a number of smaller replicas of the statue, reduced to slightly under one-third the size of the original.[4]
