The oldest statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Western United States stands today in Boise, Idaho. I went and saw this statue in after it was moved to its current location in front of the state Capitol. The statue stood for many years in front of the Idaho State Veterans Home, a place of low-visibility. It was moved and dedicated on February 12, 2009 in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday.
Alphonse Pelzer, a German immigrant, designed this life-size statue, which stands six feet four inches tall. He wanted to show Lincoln as the "Emancipator." Lincoln is seen holding a document in his left hand. This statue was in need of a cleaning and refinishing before being moved to its new location. Close up, viewers can see the damage that has built up over the years.
At the base of the statue is a plaque with Lincoln's Gettyburg address. Below that is a dedication inscribed into the sandstone. It says, "Presented to the state of Idaho by the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic of Boise - Feb'y 12, 1915. " That date is when the base was first dedicated. To my surprise, I found another Lincoln quote on the other side. It was the closing paragraph of his Second Inaugural Address:
"With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in. To bind up the nation's wounds. To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." - Mar 4, 1865.Links to Learn More:
Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteThe statue in Boise was done by the Mullins Co. of Salem, Ohio. It is unusual because it is made more like the Statue of Liberty, out of sheets of bronze that have been pressed into shape, and not like the poured bronze statues that we are most familiar with.
I am working on a book of Lincoln statues and my research has found that Pelzer designed the first Mullins Lincoln in 1898 but by the time this statue and several other copies were erected 15-20 years later, Pelzer had returned to Europe. Documentation indicates that another artist, John Segesman, that worked for Mullins actually designed this piece and others.
There are other Segesman/Mullins works in St. Cloud, MN, Middletown and Wooster, Ohio, Detroit and Brighton, MI, Fremont, NE and Wilkinsburg, PA. The only work that appears to be done by Pelzer is the original one in Middlesex, NJ from 1898. One can see the differences quite easily though each is similar in design.
Dave Wiegers, Gurnee, IL
Dave,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and interesting info about this statue. It really is a beautiful one of Lincoln.
Good luck on the book! Sounds like a great subject to research!
Thanks for stopping by!