The 1920 Statue Of Abraham Lincoln By Daniel Chester French

One of many Daniel Chester French’s most famous works was the 1920 statue of Abraham Lincoln. The statue weighs 170 tons and is composed of 28 blocks of white Georgia marble. Its dimensions are 30 feet from the floor, 19-foot seated figure (with armchair and footrest) upon an 11-foot high pedestal. This figure of Lincoln gazes out as if he is looking at you and is constructed a slightly downward expression. Lincoln has his hands resting on the sides as well as his coat unbuttoned. From observing the sculpture we can also see the American flag draping across and over the sides and on the arms of the chair. In this sculpture, in order to achieve the correct placement of Lincoln’s hands, French created casts of his own fingers which helped him analyse where he needed to put them.

Analysis

The composition is organized and created with white Georgia marble. The lights were later added to truly define and depict Lincoln with respect. The sculptor French used principles such as Scale, Unity,
French used the Lincoln’s statue that ultimately created a strong mood in that time frame due to Lincoln’s huge influence. He successfully created a true representation of Lincoln’s character as Lincoln was well respected because of his true integrity and leadership skills. Early in 1912 French created a similar sculpture of Lincoln. This sculpture was made out of bronze and had dimensions of 8.67 ft by 6 ft granite base. This Lincoln sculpture was to commemorate his Gettysburg Address speech. The mood that was created in the time of Lincoln’s presidency really strengthened America. Lincoln's extremely simple and easy to understand by Americans and was brilliant since he always founds ways to benefit the people. With keeping these characteristics of Lincoln in mind, French created and genuinely expressed this in his sculptural art work of