One of the most photographed statues of Abraham Lincoln is the recently erected Lincoln at the New York Historical Society. While it is frequently photographed by history-mined visitors to the society, it is often photographed by families visiting the Museum of Natural History across the street. Because it is life-sized, parents love to have their kids stand next to the statue to compare sizes! This is a “statue for the people” of a “Man of the People”!
The entity behind the statue is StudioEIS located in DUMBO in Brooklyn, just a dozen miles away. It was erected in 2011.
Just a hundred feet away is a life-sized statue of Frederick Douglass, Lincoln’s ally, critic, and (sometimes) friend. Both statues were installed in 2011 after a $65 million renovation.
The society has a museum with great objects of New York history, but its grandeur is considered “uninviting” according to many passers-bye. The statues convey human-scale history that invites people in.
When the Society opened in 1804, slavery still existed in New York. When the statues were installed Louise Mirrer, the society’s president, said that “Lincoln and Douglass quintessentially point to the story we tell through our exhibitions, programs and extraordinary collections about the open-ended history of American freedom, and our nation and city’s accomplishments, as well as failures to make good on the promise of liberty and equality for all.”
StudioEIS has made many statues for museums and historic sites. I have photographed some of their work, like Lincoln at the Lincoln Cottage in Washington. At National Harbor in Maryland I photographed statues designed by Ivan Schwartz of StudioEIS of Lincoln and Douglass. These are highly accurate depictions of their subjects. For instance, the sculptor went to the Smithsonian to measure the height of Lincoln’s stovepipe hat for this statue. While the three StudioEIS statues I have photographed are by no means identical, with different poses and ancillary features, they all reflect the same craftsmanship.
You can see the crowds coming out of the Museum of Natural History beyond Lincoln in the photo above. In the photo below is Central Park across the street.
People tell me that this is not a Lincoln full of humor and mirth. He does not look like a source of endless jokes. This is a president caught up in one of the bloodiest civil wars in human history. A short while before his own death, he is serious, concerned, dedicated.
The New York Historical Society is at 170 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024 between 76th St and 77th. There is no parking nearby. You should come by Subway or take a cab or Uber. You do not have to pay to visit the statue, but if you want to go inside the Society, here is the admission policy.
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