Sculpting Lincoln, Part 6

The Lincoln of the Farewell Address

Bronze Statue by Andrew O'Connor, 1874-1941
Dedicated on October 5, 1918.
Located at the Illinois State Capitol, Springfield, IL
GPS Coordinates: N 39° 47.907' W 89° 39.220'

Story and photos by Carl Volkmann

The State of Illinois celebrated the centenary y of the meeting of the first General Assembly of Illinois on October 5, 1918, in Springfield. On that day, the cornerstone of the new Centennial Building was laid. An act of the state legislature had appropriated funds for statues of both Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas to be erected as part of the centennial celebration. The Illinois State Art Commission sponsored a contest among several sculptors. Andrew O'Connor was chosen by the Commission to create the Lincoln statue.

O'Connor was born on June 7, 1874, in Worcester, Massachusetts. His father was a sculptor and taught his son the basic concepts of the art. After spending several years traveling around the United States and Europe, O'Connor studied for a time under William Ordway Partridge and Daniel Chester French. While employed in the studio of John Singer Sargent, he decided to become a sculptor like his father.

O'Connor's statue of Lincoln in front of the State Capitol is said to depict the President-elect making his farewell address to his friends and neighbors of Springfield as he stood on the rear platform of the train taking him to Washington. The "Farewell Address" is inscribed on the back of the massive stone slab on which the statue stands. O'Connor portrays Lincoln with downcast eyes, sad but composed. The historical accuracy of the statue is somewhat marred by the fact that Lincoln appears as a smooth-faced man when in reality he wore a heavy beard when he delivered his famous address on February 11, 1861. The commemorative Illinois Centennial half-dollar, issued by the United States Mint in 1918, bears a low-relief portrait of Lincoln taken from O'Connor's statue.

The dedication ceremonies for "The Lincoln of the Farewell Address" began with an invocation by Rev. J.R. Thomas, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Governor Frank Lowden acted as master of ceremonies. The assembled crowd sang the Centennial hymn, "Our Illinois," and Donald Robertson recited Edwin Mark-ham's poem "Lincoln, The Man Of The People." Vachel Lindsay then recited his own poem "Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight In Springfield, Illinois." Col. C.E. Adams, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, gave a short speech.

The main orator of the day was Godfrey Rathbone Renson, Lord Charnwood, English statesman and author, whose biography of Lincoln had been published in 1916. Since the United States and Great Britain were fighting side by side in World War I at that time, it was appropriate that he was selected to deliver the main address. Charnwood told his audience that there was no statesman whose example was so often cited in Great Rritain as that of Abraham Lincoln. He reminded them that men were dying for the Lincolnian ideas "of democracy, of freedom, of equality."

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Lincoln - The Circuit Lawyer

Bronze Statue by Keith Knoblock, 1941.
Dedicated on August 28, 1977.
Located at the McLean County Law & Justice Center,
Bloomington, Illinois
GPS Coordinates: N 40° 28.698' W 88° 59.647'

Abraham Lincoln first came to Bloomington, Illinois, in April 1837, just one month after he was admitted to the bar. During his long legal career, from 1837 to 1861, he spent more time there than in any city other than Springfield. As he rode the Eighth Judicial Circuit, he attended almost every court session in Bloomington from the fall of 1849 until the spring of 1860. Many of his closest friends and supporters, including David Davis, Leonard Swett, Ward Hill Lamon, and Jesse Fell, lived in the Bloomington area. Lincoln owned two lots in Bloomington for more than four years but never built a house on the site. He helped establish a tax rate for Bloomington High School and wrote documents that created Illinois State University. Lincoln delivered his famous "Lost Speech" in Bloomington on May 29, 1856. Lincoln's funeral train passed through Bloomington on May 3, 1865, and his many associates were able to say goodbye to an old friend. Bloomington today contains more Lincoln-related buildings than any city other than Springfield. Historically, there had been two unsuccessful attempts by citizens of McLean County, Illinois, to erect a Lincoln statue to commemorate Lincoln's many connections to the area. In both cases the idea failed because the projected costs were astronomical. Then, in 1975, Bloomington High School history instructor V.L. Fairchild initiated a sculpture project to appropriately celebrate the United States Bicentennial. Under Fairfield's leadership, Bloomington High School students led the fundraising campaign, and all segments of the community, including individuals, schools, small businesses, community organizations, the city of Bloomington, and the town of Normal responded positively.

After soliciting sketches from local sculptors, the Lincoln State Selection Committee unanimously selected then-Illinois State University faculty member Keith Knoblock for the commission. Knoblock was born in Sandusky Ohio. He earned his BFA degree at Kent State University and his MFA at Ohio State University. A. Lincoln-The Circuit Lawyer is a lifesized copper/bronze statue showing the beardless Lincoln in a relaxed pose. Knoblock depicts the young lawyer in his late 30s, the time in his life when he was most closely associated with McLean County. The statue was dedicated on August 28, 1977, and still stands in the lobby of the county's Law and Justice Center in

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