''Seated Lincoln'' is a 1911 sculpture by

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Moun ...

, located next to the Essex County Courthouse in Newark, Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 30, 1995, for its significance in art. With

History and description

The bronze sculpture depicts

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

larger than life size, seated at one end of a bench also cast in bronze. Lincoln is bearded but bare headed, with his stovepipe hat resting on the bench beside the man's hand. The bronze is set on a low stone platform with five steps, beside the steps to the courthouse. The informal composition was an unusual departure from the usual monumental depiction of Lincoln standing or enthroned on a high plinth. It was inspired by Borglum's research, reading that Lincoln often sat alone on a bench in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

garden to gather his thoughts during the American Civil War, particularly when there was bad news. In 1908, Borgulm had completed the marble bust of Lincoln which is now installed at the U.S. Capitol, and he later sculpted the heads of four U.S. presidents including Lincoln at

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

. The work was funded by a $25,000 bequest by Newark businessman Amos Hoagland Van Horn, who died in 1908. Van Horn's estate also funded Borglum's ''

Wars of America ''Wars of America'' is a colossal bronze sculpture by Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his assistant Luigi Del Bianco containing "forty-two humans and two horses", located in Military Park (Newark), Military Park in Newark, New Jersey. ...

'' monument, erected in Newark in 1926. AAB5558

The sculpture was cast at the

Gorham Manufacturing Company The Gorham Manufacturing Company was one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. History Gorham Silver was founded in 1831 in Providence, Rhode Island by Jabez Gorham, a master cr ...

foundry in New York, and dedicated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

, May 30, 1911. Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Why this doesn't look like a monument at all!" which Borglum took as a compliment. The sculpture was restored in 1980 by the Cavalier Renaissance Foundry of

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

. Borglum also made a number of smaller bronze

maquette A ''maquette'' is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture or work of architecture. The term is a loanword from French. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch. Sculpture A maquette ...

s of the statue. One example, , was sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 2009 for $62,500, and another in 2016 for $100,000.Gutzon Borglum, ''Maquette for Seated Lincoln''
Sotheby's, 9 June 2016

References

External links

* {{Abraham Lincoln Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Culture of Newark, New Jersey Statues of Abraham Lincoln in the United States Outdoor sculptures in New Jersey 1911 sculptures Bronze sculptures in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Newark, New Jersey Statues in New Jersey 1911 establishments in New Jersey Sculptures of men in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Sculptures by Gutzon Borglum Public art in Newark, New Jersey

History and description

See also

References

External links