| Bust of Abraham Lincoln | |
|---|---|
 Bust in Washington, D.C. (2013) | |
| Artist | Gutzon Borglum |
| Year | 1908 (1908) |
| Subject | Abraham Lincoln |
| Location | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Acolossalbust ofAbraham Lincoln was made byGutzon Borglum and completed in 1908. The originalmarble sculpture is installed in theUnited States Capitol crypt, inWashington, D.C. Reproductions cast in bronze are installed in several other locations, including theLincoln Tomb inSpringfield, Illinois.
Borglum made the original bust directly fromAlabama marble without a prior plaster model, based on photographs and an 1860life mask of Lincoln's face made byLeonard Volk. The likeness was praised by Lincoln's sonRobert Todd Lincoln in 1908: "I think it is the most extraordinarily good portrait of my father I have ever seen."[1]
It stands about 40 in (100 cm) high, weighs about 375 lb (170 kg), and is signed and dated "Gutzon Borglum/1908". The distinctive face of Lincoln, without a beard, emerges from the rough rock, similar in style to sculptures byMichelangelo andAuguste Rodin, and also similar to Borglum's sculptures atMount Rushmore, which includes a bearded Lincoln. Borglum also made a statue ofSeated Lincoln, installed inNewark, New Jersey in 1911.
The sculpture was donated to Congress by the New York financierEugene Meyer Jr., as recorded on the marble pedestal also designed by Borglum on which the bust was installed in 1911. For many decades it was displayed inUnited States Capitol rotunda, which still has astanding statue of Lincoln made byVinnie Ream in 1871. The bust was moved to the crypt below in 1979.[1]
The bust is part of theUnited States Capitol art collection, but it is not one of thesculptures of the National Statuary Hall Collection. Two other sculptures by Borglum are in theNational Statuary Hall Collection: astatue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens and astatue of Zebulon Baird Vance.[1]
Borglum had intended the marble bust to remain a unique work of art, but a mold was later made which was used to cast several copies inbronze. One cast stands in front of theLincoln Tomb inSpringfield, Illinois. Others are in the collections of theChicago Historical Society, theCollege of the City of New York, theUniversity of California, Berkeley, and theWhite House.[1] The bust in the White House was donated by Eugene Meyer in 1954, and is usually displayed on a stone pillar in theEast Garden Room, which links theEast Wing to theExecutive Residence.[2][3] The patina has been rubbed off the noses of the busts at the Lincoln Tomb and atShepherd Hall, CUNY, where they are often touched for good luck. An example of a 38 in (97 cm) bronze cast of Borglum's bust was sold in 2015 for $30,000.[4]
Media related toBust of beardless Abraham Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum at Wikimedia Commons
