File:Statues of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln Memorial (1922) (14755152776).jpg

Identifier: statuxxxxxxflinc (find matches)
Title: Statues of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln Memorial
Year: 1922 (1920s)
Authors: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Subjects: French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931 Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Presidents in art Presidents Marble sculpture, American Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.) Large-scale sculpture
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Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: State of Indiana through the Indiana State Library

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urroundings. I got into rather a panic about thisfor it didnt seem that a statue that large could fit intoany place without being too colossal. As was his practice, French was involved in the laststages of carving of the Lincoln: I worked personallyon the marble, both while it was at the marble shopsand after it was set in place in the Memorial. On May24, 1920, French wrote, The Lincoln statue, with itspedestal, is an accomplished fact. ... It is now asnearly perfect technically as I can make it. While French had tested the large plaster headof Lincoln in the Memorial in 1917, it was not untilthe Memorial was finished, the reflecting pool filledwith water, the approaches completed and the en-trance stairs cleared that he fully realized the extentof the adverse natural lighting. French wrote to the secretary of the Commission:I have been talking with Mr. Bacon about the possi-bility of lighting the Lincoln statue artificially bysome arrangements of electric lights. While the present 59
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^—^!fW Before (top) and after studies of Lincolns face showhow artificial lighting improves its appearance. Skaters skim the reflecting pool at time of a 1963 servicefor another assassinated President, John F. Kennedy. 60 lighting of the statue is tolerably good at some timesof the day, it at no time brings out the expression ofthe face as it ought to. The ideal lighting for mostsculpture is from above at an angle of forty-five de-grees, more or less. I had hoped that the light from thesky-light would be sufficient to overcome to some de-gree the light that comes in at the opening in front,but it fails to do this even in the afternoon when nosunlight enters the building. An experiment with electric lights was made inJanuary 1922. The results were disappointing. Todemonstrate how severely the lighting affected thestatues appearance, French had a composite photo-graph (left) made, explaining that the two versionsof the face showed one in the light that it receivesunder the worst condi

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