Statue of the Republic

“Along with Augustus Saint-Gaudens, French remains one of the most important of American sculptors working in the classical tradition. French frequently collaborated with architects in designing settings for his sculpture, but for the Lincoln Memorial, New York architect Henry Bacon (1866-1924), who had collaborated with French on several other pieces including the earlier 1918 reproduction of The Republic, selected French for what has become the most famous image of Abraham Lincoln and a national icon.”

“The present-day statue is a 1918 reproduction by French of the original. From his studio in New York and summer studio Chesterfield in Stockbridge, Massachusetts (now operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation), he completed such works as the 1904 bronze doors at the Boston Public Library, The Continents at the U.S. Custom House in New York, and his most famous work and crowning achievement, the marble seated Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., dedicated in 1922.”

“The Ferguson Fund was established in 1905 to promote public sculpture in Chicago and has commissioned some of the City's most important public monuments, including Lorado Taft's Fountain of Time, the stone reliefs Defense, Regeneration, The Pioneers, and The Discovers on the Michigan Avenue Bridge, the Illinois Centennial Memorial Column in Logan Square, The Bowman and The Spearman at Congress Plaza, and Henry Moore's Nuclear Energy on the University of Chicago campus and Man Enters the Cosmos at the Adler Planetarium.”

“The statue of The Republic commemorates the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, the influence of which was profound and long lasting-not only did it demonstrate to the world American industry and innovation, it also illustrated the cultural, artistic, and architectural maturity of the nation, region and city.”

“The Republic displays the talents of two nationally important American designers, sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon. The bronze statue is one of the most important works (and one uniquely associated with Chicago) of Daniel Chester French, one of America's most celebrated and significant sculptors.”

“A reproduction of Daniel Chester French's statue of The Republic was selected for the commemoration, having been one of the fair's most famous symbols and regarded at the time to have been one of the finest pieces of sculpture in the nation.”

“The 1918 reproduction was cast from an original plaster model and stands on the site of the fair's Administration Building, at what was the opposite end of the Grand Basin from the original statue's location.”

“Speaking of the statue years later, Lorado Taft, himself one of America's great sculptors, recalled: That crowning feature of the Fair was more than a big feature; it was a great one.”

“Program of the Dedication of the Statue of the Republic. May 11, 1918. Reidy, James L. "Sculpture at the Columbian Exposition." Chicago History the Magazine of the Chicago Historical Society.”