Object Details
- Exhibition Label
- Abraham Lincoln 1809–1865
- Born Hardin County, Kentucky
- Soon after Abraham Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination, in May of 1860, sculptor Leonard Wells Volk made casts of Lincoln’s hands. The right hand is shown grasping a sawed-off section of a broom handle, which Lincoln obligingly fetched from a shed when the artist suggested that he hold on to something. Lincoln smoothed the edges of the wood, reportedly saying, “I thought I would like to have it nice.” During their session, Volk was already thinking of using these casts, in combination with his recently completed Lincoln bust, to fashion a full-length statue.
- Nacido en el condado de Hardin, Kentucky
- Poco después de que Abraham Lincoln obtuviera la nominación a la presidencia por el Partido Republicano, en mayo de 1860, el escultor Leonard Wells Volk hizo moldes de sus manos. La mano derecha aparece agarrando un trozo del mango de una escoba que Lincoln tuvo la gentileza de buscar en un cobertizo cuando el artista sugirió que sujetara algo. Cuando Lincoln empezó a lijar los bordes del trozo de madera, Lincoln contestó: “Pensé que me gustaría más pulido”. Ya durante la sesión Volk estaba planeando utilizar estos moldes, en combinación con el busto de Lincoln recién terminado, para construer una estatua de cuerpo entero.
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Exhibition
- America's Presidents (Reinstallation September 2017)
- On View
- NPG, South Gallery 240
- Date
- c. 1917 cast after 1860 original
- Object number
- S/NPG.71.6
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Museum of American History
- Cast after
- Leonard Wells Volk, 1828 - 1895
- Sitter
- Abraham Lincoln, 12 Feb 1809 - 15 Apr 1865
- Topic
- Abraham Lincoln: Male
- Abraham Lincoln: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer
- Abraham Lincoln: Military\Soldier
- Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\President of US
- Abraham Lincoln: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist
- Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant
- Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Illinois
- Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government Official\Surveyor
- Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\State Senator\Illinois
- Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government Official\Postmaster
- Abraham Lincoln: Crafts and Trades\Boat builder
- Portrait
- Medium
- Plaster
- Dimensions
- Proper Left: 7.6 x 11.1 x 17.8cm (3 x 4 3/8 x 7")
- Proper Right: 8.9 x 12.7 x 15.2cm (3 1/2 x 5 x 6")
- Data Source
- National Portrait Gallery
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Sculpture
- Record ID
- npg_S_NPG.71.6
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
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