Abraham Lincoln

Modeled 1912, cast after 1912

Daniel Chester French (American, 1850–1931)
Cast by Roman Bronze Works (American, founded 1897)

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.

Status: On View, Gallery 161
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Daniel Chester French (Sculptor)
Title: Abraham Lincoln
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Modeled 1912
Medium: Bronze
Inscriptions: Signed and inscribed right, bottom-middle, on base top, in cast: "Daniel C. French Sc. / 1912"; stamped verso, bottom-right: "Roman Bronze Works N.Y.".
Dimensions: 95.9 × 31.2 × 25.4 cm (37 3/4 × 12 1/4 × 10 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Elsie O. Sang in memory of Philip D. Sang
Reference Number: 1984.1130
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/103114/manifest.json

“Sculptor’s Pride in Art Institute,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 6, 1985, Section 8, 1 (ill.).
Judith A. Barter, et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), 329–31, no. 174.
Eric Foner, “The Civil War and the Story of American Freedom,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 27, 1 (2001), 9 (ill.).

Philip D. Sang (1902–1975), Chicago, by early 1940s; by descent to Elsie O. Sang (Mrs. Philip D. Sang, 1906–1997), Chicago, 1975; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1984.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.