''Seated Lincoln'' is a 1911 sculpture by

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American 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 Mountain in Georg ...

, located next to the Essex County Veterans Courthouse in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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 an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

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 A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

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. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...

. 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, Essex County, New Jersey, United ...

'' monument, erected in Newark in 1926. AAB5558

The sculpture was cast at the

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

foundry in New York, and dedicated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

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 have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, 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 and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

. Borglum also made a number of smaller bronze

maquette A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...

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

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

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 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 Monuments and memorials to Abraham Lincoln in the United States Sculptures by Gutzon Borglum Public art in Newark, New Jersey

History and description

See also

References

External links