International studio (58.1916)

Famous Statues by American Sculptors

which gives to the work the deep and mellow
character seen in onyx and chalcedony. Lincoln
is shown attired in the well-known costume of
his time, made so familiar through numerous
photographs of him. The collar is soft and rolling,
but not so wide as is to be seen in many of the
Lincoln portraits. The necktie is a flat, some-
what stiff bow-tie which is made somewhat
askew. This gives the touch of carelessness so
characteristic of the vesture of Lincoln. The hair
is also treated in a way to carry out the same idea.
But these are accessories which scarcely attract
the attention inevitably drawn to his face.
What volumes might be written about the face
of Abraham Lincoln! Some have called his
countenance sad, and one writer at least has de-
clared it to have been “the saddest face ever
seen.” Despite this fact that his face has been
represented as sad and even tearful, it is, however,
no proof that Lincoln always looked that way.
From careful studies of both the life and the
death-masks, the face of Lincoln seems to me to
be rather a sober or grave face than a really sad
one. Of Lincoln with the tear of sympathy for
some bereaved mother or war-sundered family, or
battle-scarred veteran, one may easily conceive,
but of a crying Lincoln—this is inconceivable.
There are too many references to his wonderful
smile even under the most trying circumstances
to believe that his face could be “the saddest
ever seen.”
Niehaus has given us the sober, grave, and
sadly thoughtful countenance, but with a genu-
ine feeling for his subject; there is a slight curve
of the lip seen in the profile view, which betrays
the humour that Lincoln could seldom quite sup-
press and which was the saving salt to his over-
burdened powers during that fearful period of
stress and strain.
Too much cannot be said in praise of the won-
derfully expressive eyes. Never before have I
seen in a statue an eye so lifelike. It looks at you.
It seems to look into and through you with a re-
markably kindly expression. If the eyes of the
Martyr President were like this, it is no wonder
that he had such power as a leader and made
friends of all who came into contact with him.
The artist has produced a wonderful Lincoln
because he seized upon an inspiration while the
spell was upon him, and he has thus been able to
preserve it in imperishable marble. He cannot
do it again, for inspirations like this come only

once and return no more. With this it is true
as it is with Borglum’s colossal Lincoln head in
the Capitol at Washington, it cannot be success-
fully cast or copied. Replicas cannot reproduce
it with fidelity. The precious material itself, the
exquisite marble of Crestele, speaks in this mas-
terpiece to us. No photograph can possibly re-
produce the beauty of texture and wonderful
translucence of the original.
Reference has been made to the great work of
Borglum in the Capitol in Washington but there
can be no comparison between that transcendent
creation and this bust by Niehaus. Both are
masterpieces. Both are Lincolns. The Borglum
head is idealized and etherealized. The Niehaus
bust is a living and speaking likeness. The Bor-
glum face is almost godlike in its calm dignity
and repose. The Niehaus face is intensely human.
The admirer of Lincoln cannot help but won-
der what is to become of this splendid work of
art. What American city will become its proud
possessor, what institution its fortunate custo-
dian? The public-spirited New Yorker cannot
fail to wish that it may become one of the city’s
cherished possessions. It is the hope of the writer
that some one may be inspired to purchase this
bust and present it to the city to be housed in
the Governor’s Room in City Hall, where, up to
the present, no Lincoln has found a place. So
situated and so guarded, it would become one of
the most-admired works of art of the metropolis.
THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
ARTS
The Seventh Annual Convention will be held
in Washington, D. C., at the New Willard Hotel
on May 17, 18 and 19, 1916. The main subject
chosen for consideration will be “Art and the
People,” with special reference to the enrich-
ment of every-day life and the development of
the highest type of citizenship. To an extent it
is, in reality, a continuation of the great subject
of Art Education which was considered at the
convention last year. At the first session there
will be one or two distinguished speakers who
will deal with the subject in its broadest aspect.
The second session will be devoted to the work
that Art Museums are doing to reach the people
and increase both knowledge and appreciation of
art. At this session Mr. Edward Robinson, direc-
tor of the Metropolitan Museum, will preside.

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