Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1887 — A MASTER PIECE OF ART. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A MASTER PIECE OF ART.

The finest product of American sculpture yet achieved has become an ornament of Chicago. Says a special from that city: The colossal bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, by Augustus Salnt-Gaudens, the foremost of American sculptors, was unveiled at Lincoln Park, on Saturday, the 21st inst., In the presence of a vast concourse of people. The veil was withdrawn by Abraham Lincoln, son of Hon. Bobert T. Lincoln, and Hon. Leonard Swett. the distinguished lawyer and a life-long friend of the great emancipator, delivered the oration. Mr. Salnt-Gaudens is a native of New York, and 35 years old. He devoted three years

to this magnificent work of art. He sought to embody in the figure the dignity and nobleness of the President’s character. His purity of artistic feeling made him scorn any accessories incongruous or inconsistent. Simple, lofty. Strong, kind, but plain, honest, ragged Lincoln — this was the ideal of the work. That it is faithfully effectuated in bronze all who have seen the statue affirm. The figure of the great War President, which is eleven feet in height, stands just a little to the front and left of a chair of state. The idea meant to be conveyed by the sculptor is that he has just arisen to receive a delegation which has waited upon him. The left leg is advanced, the weight of the body resting mainly on the right, while the head is thrown forward a little, bringing Lincoln’s stoop into prominence. The right arm is held at full length behind his back, while the left arm is thrown across his chest, the fingers grasping the lapel of the long, old-fashioned frock coat which Lincoln usually wore. The expression is thoughtful and what may strike many as melancholy. The chair from which the President is supposed to have risen is of large size, with a rounded back, and is highly ornamented with carvings of oak loaves, pine cones, and palms. On the back Is an eagle with outstretched pinions.

THE STATUE UNVEILED.