| Existing comment:
Daniel Chester French (shown here) was 64 years old when he was selected to be the sculptor of the Lincoln statue on December 8, 1914. He began by studying everything available on Abraham Lincoln -- books, photographs, and the life masks of Lincoln's face. When French finally "got his fingers into the clay," he knew what the statue would represent: Lincoln the President, the humanitarian and the preserver of the Union, with the burdens of war reflected in the rugged features. |