Entering The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, visitors immediately encounter a recognizable and awe-inspiring symbol of American history.
Immortalized in plaster, albeit on a smaller scale than his counterpart in Washington, DC, he still looms larger than life in the collective conscience. Abraham Lincoln’s face is calm and serene. Through the storytelling of sculptor Daniel Chester French, there is a hint of wisdom and strength in the former president’s eyes.
Venturing further into the interior galleries, one comes upon another representation: Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s bronze figure of Lincoln stands in front of an ornate chair. The Great Emancipator’s head bows slightly as if composing his thoughts before delivering a public address.
Friendly rivals, the two men approached their subject using Lincoln’s life mask, photographs, paintings and published accounts. Yet Saint-Gaudens’s sculpture is more realistic and detailed, while French’s sculpture is more idealized. Saint-Gaudens’s sculpture accurately captures Lincoln’s physical features, while French’s statue reveals Lincoln’s inner qualities, such as his character strength and compassion for others.
