Bust of Abraham Lincoln
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
American Art
On View:
This portrait bust of President Abraham Lincoln was derived from the full-length standing portrait completed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1887 for Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Saint-Gaudens based Lincoln’s likeness on plaster life casts of the president’s head.
The sculptor was inspired by Lincoln’s landmark 1860 speech at Cooper Union in New York, in which the future president declared that the founders would have opposed the expansion of slavery into new American territories. In this speech Lincoln also made famous the phrase “Let us have faith that right makes might.”
The sculptor was inspired by Lincoln’s landmark 1860 speech at Cooper Union in New York, in which the future president declared that the founders would have opposed the expansion of slavery into new American territories. In this speech Lincoln also made famous the phrase “Let us have faith that right makes might.”
MEDIUM
Bronze
DATES
1922
DIMENSIONS
28 x 17 x 14 in. (71.1 x 43.2 x 35.6 cm)
124.5 lb. (56.47kg) (show scale)
MARKINGS
Foundry mark inscribed on back along bottom: "KUNSt FOUNDRY. N.Y."
SIGNATURE
Inscribed under shoulder of proper left side: "A. SAINT GAUDENS. / © 1922."
COLLECTIONS
American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
23.257
CREDIT LINE
Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Portrait bust of Abraham Lincoln with head tipped downward; has furrowed brow and somber expression; wears a bowtie, suit jacket, and coat; on a pedestal base; naturalistic representation.
Condition: Good.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, born Ireland, 1848–1907). Bust of Abraham Lincoln, 1922. Bronze, 28 x 17 x 14 in. (71.1 x 43.2 x 35.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 23.257. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 23.257_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 23.257_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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