Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 1916

Curator: Daniel Chester French's bronze sculpture, "Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)," presently held at the Harvard Art Museums, offers a profound study in presidential iconography. Editor: It's intensely contemplative. The sheen of the bronze makes him seem almost…alive, but burdened. Curator: Absolutely, the sculpture resonates within ongoing dialogues concerning power, representation, and the fraught legacies of American leadership. Editor: The way he sits, it's like he's carrying the weight of the world, or at least, a deeply divided nation, on those broad shoulders. Makes you wonder what he’d make of things today. Curator: Indeed, French’s work invites critical engagement with the narratives we construct around historical figures and the complex realities they embody. Editor: It lingers, doesn’t it? Leaving you to ponder the man behind the monument.