Abraham Lincoln statues

[David Lockmiller]

I thought that I would add information regarding the Lincoln sittings at the White House in Edward S. Cooper's book Vinnie Ream, An American Sculptor at pages 18-19:

The president gave orders that he was not to be disturbed during the sittings and Vinnie could recall their being interrupted only twice. The fist visitor was a woman of middle age. She was the mother of a boy who had worn the gray and who had been captured and was in old Capitol prison. To visit her boy, she needed a pass with the president's signature. He listened "graciously" to her story, Vinnie remembered, wrote a pass himself and apologized for the boy's situation. On the second occasion, a young pretty woman came in, blushing and stammering over her request. The president anticipated her and granted her wish, saying afterward that he could tell from her blushes that she wanted to visit her sweetheart. (Source: Vinnie Ream interview, Washington Sunday Star, Feb. 9, 1913.)

[David Lockmiller]

Tom Bogar post #7 of Gene's thread titled "Vinnie Ream - An American Sculptor" (the book) reads in part:

I have no doubt, for instance, that Mary Lincoln had no idea that Vinnie was in her husband's office as he worked, making sketches for her model of his statue. But, bottom line: if you can get a good used copy, snag it and enjoy an intriguing life story.

[RJNorton]

(11-18-2022 11:00 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  There is no reference to Vinnie Ream in Professor Burlingame's book Abraham Lincoln: A Life, Vol. 2.

David, do you know why Professor Burlingame did not mention her?

[David Lockmiller]

(11-25-2022 06:43 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(11-18-2022 11:00 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  There is no reference to Vinnie Ream in Professor Burlingame's book Abraham Lincoln: A Life, Vol. 2.

David, do you know why Professor Burlingame did not mention her?

Roger, I tried to find any reference to Vinnie Ream in the unabridged Abraham Lincoln: A Life on the Knox College website but I was unable to find a reference to her. The online posting of the two volumes has no index to search alphabetically.

Any reference to her would have been in Chapter 35 which covers the period Nov. 1864 - April 1865 (She had a five month relationship with the last meeting on the day President Lincoln was executed. I looked through the chapter pretty thoroughly but was unable to find any reference to her (but it was an eventful time including passage of the Thirteenth Amendment legislation, the appointment of Chase as Chief Justice, and the approaching end of the Civil War).

But I did find this passage in Vinnie Ream book at page 22:

The Lincoln bust was nearing completion: just a few more sittings were scheduled when the president left Washington on March 23, 1865, to meet General Grant at City Point to discuss postwar plans and possible surrender terms. Lincoln returned on the evening of April 9. . . . On Friday, April 14, the president, who had been busy, but happier than Vinnie had ever seen him, went to Ford's Theater to see Our American Cousin, starring Laura Keene.

Vinnie was home alone that evening. Around midnight, as her parents were entering the house, someone hurrying past called out that Lincoln had been shot. Vinnie was stricken, and later described some of her emotions during the five months the president had set for her: "Throughout all this time the personality of Lincoln was gradually sinking deeper and deeper into my soul. I was modeling the man in clay, but he was being engraven still more deeply upon my heart . . . . A big, strong man broken by grief is always a tragic thing to see, but never was there a grief equal to Lincoln's . . . . [He] would have a far-away dreamy look and his eyes would light up and his whole face would be illuminated . . . ." (Washington Sunday Star, Feb. 9, 1913, interview with VR.)

[David Lockmiller]

(11-17-2022 09:37 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  [quote='Gene C' pid='86048' dateline='1668684241']
Here's some good news.

From Fox News, Lincoln Statue Back On Display At Cornell University Library After Abrupt Removal

https://www.foxnews.com/us/lincoln-statu...pt-removal

Weighing in on the development is Cornell University alumnus Ken Wolf, ’76, co-founder of the Cornell Free Speech Alliance and its chairman and treasurer:

This bust was the last sculpture made of Abraham Lincoln before his assassination. Ezra Cornell was a well-known abolitionist. Cornell, founded in 1865, is the only Ivy League school whose founders and early leadership had no relationship whatsoever to the institution of slavery.

So owning and displaying the Lincoln bust at Cornell was a tribute to its founder and a source of pride for many Cornellians. In August 2021, the bust was removed from the Kroch Library, allegedly on the basis of a single complaint: no discussion, no public debate, no satisfactory explanation. This was an affront to the notion of viewpoint diversity.

Due primarily to the efforts of Randy Wayne, a plant biology professor at Cornell, who waged an unwavering campaign to uncover why the bust was removed and have it returned, today it is now in a prominent location at Uris Library.

With behind the scenes efforts by the Cornell Free Speech Alliance (CFSA), many individuals and organizations wrote letters, demanding answers from the library and the administration and asking for the bust to be returned. The College Fix, which first reported the story, and at least 30 other media outlets were instrumental in applying pressure to achieve this outcome.

CFSA and its 6,000 supporters actively participated in that effort, and I believe that the great majority of Cornell’s 200,000-plus living alumni are very happy that one of the greatest historical artifacts has been returned for public display and appreciation at Cornell.

I might add that the return of the bust was conducted without fanfare or publicity, much like its removal.

[LincolnMan]

What a great story because of the great outcome!