Abraham Lincoln

George Grey Barnard

ca. 1911–17; carved ca. 1919 · Marble · The American Wing

After the October 1911 dedication of the marble groups Barnard had carved for the Pennsylvania State Capitol, he set to work on a commissioned bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) for Lytle Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The statue, dedicated in 1917, was inspired by the life mask of the unbearded Lincoln that Leonard Wells Volk has taken in 1860 (2007.185.2). Barnard’s intense involvement with the image of Lincoln led him to continue exploring Lincoln’s character in variations of heads and in other images. The Metropolitan Museum’s white marble portrait was carved about 1919 from a clay study.

Artist

George Grey Barnard

Date

ca. 1911–17; carved ca. 1919

Medium

Marble

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Morris K. Jesup Fund, 1929