Did Vinnie Ream visit the White House daily for 5 months?

[RJNorton]

(02-21-2017 01:23 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Wow, very interesting, Linda!!!
"Vinnie Ream knew many prominent men, but most of them did not want to be linked to her to avoid scandal " - what kind of scandal was there to expect (from a 17-yrs-old girl, or just because of the mere fact she was?)?

I am not sure, Eva. One possibility, maybe, is how one defines "feminine wiles." At least one source I read said that she used her "feminine wiles" to influence Edmund Ross's vote not to convict Andrew Johnson.

I agree with what Rob wrote based on what I have read. Rob wrote, "From the newspaper articles I've read, Ream was a master at manipulating the press as well as various congressmen and senators. She might have been a young girl, but she was a savvy and rather mature young girl."

[JMadonna]

Dan Sickles, well known seducer of women tried to get her to induce Ross's vote but she refused. Old peg leg then started rumors that Ross was under her influence. Cherchez la femme!

[Linda Anderson]

Vinnie Ream also created a bust of William Seward.

https://www.lincolncollection.org/search...item=52155

[RJNorton]

Thank you for posting this, Linda.

I did not mean to discount Vinnie's accomplishments in previous posts in this thread; it is simply my opinion that she did not really go to the White House daily for 5 months to make her Lincoln bust.

[Linda Anderson]

(03-16-2017 04:43 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Thank you for posting this, Linda.

I did not mean to discount Vinnie's accomplishments in previous posts in this thread; it is simply my opinion that she did not really go to the White House daily for 5 months to make her Lincoln bust.

I didn't think you were discounting her accomplishments, Roger, although there were plenty of people who did because of her reputation.

Look at the title of these recent articles about her: "Lincoln's Beautiful Sculpture or Enchanting Washington Nymph."

http://www.civilwarbummer.com/lincolns-b...ton-nymph/

"Vinnie Reams: Teen Prodigy or Victorian Intriguer?"

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/vinnie-r...er.103487/

Of course, she could have been both talented and an "intriguer."

I've read that she had a relationship with Sherman.

This is from a review of Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman’ by Robert O’Connell

"As to Sherman’s private life, his long marriage was mutually fulfilling but passionately disputatious, especially as regards Thomas Ewing’s persistent attempts to keep his daughter by his side in Ohio while her husband pursued a military career that, until success was at last achieved, Ewing regarded with disdain. Sherman had always 'been intensely aware of women, particularly attractive women,' and as the years went by and Ellen grew increasingly stout, his eyes roved elsewhere. It is common knowledge that in 1873 he was taken with the fetching young sculptor Vinnie Ream (her bust of Lincoln is in the Capitol rotunda), but on what grounds does O’Connell insist that after their initial meeting, 'within days, the two were lovers'? There is nothing in his notes to indicate the source of this, and by contrast Marszalek says only: 'Since Sherman was so open with his flirtations and he had a reputation for kissing young women, no one ever accused him of having a serious affair. Clearly though, he enjoyed younger women, and there must have been some flings. . . . His need for Ellen, however, precluded any permanent dalliances.' This probably is about as close to the truth as reliable evidence permits, and thus as far as any responsible scholar should feel entitled to go."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/column/re...9a7ac21561

[Gene C]

It is somewhat interesting to note, that after her marriage in 1878, at the age of 31, she pretty well quit sculpting.
I suspect her husband was behind that.

[JMadonna]

Even in this day and age its tough to be a good mother and be at the top of your field.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(03-16-2017 04:43 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Thank you for posting this, Linda.

I did not mean to discount Vinnie's accomplishments in previous posts in this thread; it is simply my opinion that she did not really go to the White House daily for 5 months to make her Lincoln bust.

...and you (and others' input) succeeded in convincing me.

[RJNorton]

Thanks to Laurie for sending this link re: Vinnie Ream.

https://americanart.si.edu/blog/eye-leve...ams-sappho