The Lincoln Statue at Mankato
By: Carter Logan
I am very fortunate to be one of the four students enrolled in the Lincoln Legacy course this semester at Minnesota State University, Mankato. This class provides me with a unique opportunity to help design an exhibit for the university’s statue of Abraham Lincoln. There are many aspects being considered when looking at the statue, however ultimately the collective goal of the project is to generate informed discussion about the impact of Lincoln on the nation and on the Mankato community. Lots of controversy has surrounded the presence of the statue and what it represents to different people, but it undeniably has an extensive history at the university. To best understand the intended purpose of the statue it is important to understand the prevalent perceptions of Lincoln during the time it was created and what the sculptor hoped to achieve with his representation of the figure.
Anniversaries played a significant role in generating attention to commemorate people like Abraham Lincoln and there were many such occasions in the early twentieth century. The year 1909 marked the centennial of Lincoln’s birth and sparked discussion about the best way to honor him.[1] However, Lincoln’s birth was not the only date of importance during this time as 1915 was the designated celebration of the one hundred year peace anniversary between the United States and England; it made sense then that a statue of Lincoln was deemed to be an appropriate gift selected by the American Peace Centenary Committee.[2] The man behind this statue was the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens [3]
Saint-Gaudens’s statue chosen by the committee would not be one he was contracted to design, rather it would be one he had already created. The work selected was one made late in the eighteen-hundreds. On November 11, 1884, Saint-Gaudens signed a contract with the Lincoln Monument Fund to make a statue of Lincoln that would rest on a granite pedestal.[4] There were many elements included in this project to make it as vividly accurate as possible. Landon Moore was picked to be the model to mirror Lincoln’s image after much consideration.[5] Ostensibly to create the most authentic statue possible Saint-Gaudens looked to use original casts of Lincoln. There was only one person who ever had made casts of Lincoln and that was Leonard Volk who made the mask of Lincoln’s face in April of 1860 and the casts of Lincoln’s hands on May 20, 1860.[6] Coincidently, this was two days after he was chosen to represent the Republican party in the presidential race.[7] Being one of the premier sculptors in the field Saint-Gaudens would find himself fortunate enough to find himself in a position where he was able to utilize Volk’s casts. In 1886 he was invited by Richard Watson Gilder to join a committee that would end up buying Leonard Volk’s original casts and donate them to the National Museum.[8] Additionally he oversaw the process of making replicas of the casts for all those who helped fund the purchasing of the original casts.[9] Saint-Gaudens’s himself would use one of the three first replicas made in his statue of Lincoln.[10]
After a thorough arduous process to create the most detailed statue within his capabilities, Saint-Gaudens would complete his statue of Lincoln. In the end he spent almost three years working on the statue.[11] The statue was officially revealed on October 22, 1887, at the Lincoln Park in Chicago Illinois.[12] Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son, attended the statue’s grand revealing ceremony and would go on to say the statue was the most realistic statue of his father.[13] This recognition from Abrahams Lincoln’s own son was perhaps the most meaningful acknowledgment of the effort put into the statue by Saint-Gaudens for attaining such a result. This original statue is twelve feet tall and officially known as “Abraham Lincoln: The Man”, but the statue is more commonly referred to as “The Standing Lincoln”.[14]
Despite all the detail that went into the making of Saint-Gaudens’s portrayal of Lincoln and the favorable reaction by Abraham’s son Robert, Saint-Gaudens’s statue was not guaranteed to be the finalist for a commemoration gift to England. With no immediate financial supporter backing Saint-Gaudens, the American Peace Centenary Committee turned to an offer from Charles Taft (the half-brother of President William Howard Taft), of a statue designed by George Barnard.[15] This change did not go unnoticed in the public eye; it became the center of a heated argument that is exemplified by the fact that the New York Times wrote a whopping forty-nine articles on the matter.[16]
The intensity of the debate seems to be redundant, arguing about a definitive singular interpretation of what each statue represented, and which one was the more proper representation of Lincoln and the American values he displayed. The criticism of Barnard’s statue of Lincoln is that it showed a more vulgar image of Lincoln in the critics’ eyes contrary to their preferred version that would ideally be more dignified and eloquent.[17] As historian Barry Schwarz put it when breaking down the situation, “Previously contrasted to Lincoln’s simplicity and commonness, Washington’s aristocratic dignity and power is now deemed appropriate for Lincoln and even required for his accurate portrayal” (Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 308). The desired qualities were prevalent in Saint-Gaudens’s statue. It consisted of the popular neoclassical characteristics at that time; formal clothing, a straight body and head with a bent leg, a resting or clutched hand, and a symbolic chair of state supporting the figure.[18] Schwarz argued in his article that Barnard’s statue shows equalitarian values and Saint-Gaudens’s statue demonstrates elitist values.[19] Schwarz has a very intriguing article where he goes into greater depth exploring the difference in representations of Lincoln that I recommend you read if you are curious about exploring the topic further.
The Lincoln statue at Minnesota State University has a storied history. The statue is a smaller plaster version of “The Standing Lincoln”, standing at about seven feet, so it was likely made from a smaller cast. There is also no chair of state that was included in the original work by Saint-Gaudens. Unfortunately, I was unable to pin-point the exact cast replica or company that made the statue at Mankato. To add onto the already abundant attention surrounding Lincoln in the early twentieth century, the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on May 30, 1922, was another possible reason for a statue of Lincoln to be deemed an appropriate gift to the university.[20] The reason for the donation of the statue was a catastrophic fire on February 5, 1922, that destroyed many of the previous relics housed in the Mankato Normal School.[21] After the destructive fire, an effort was made to replace what was lost. This group was made up of alumni and headed by Dr. Hiram J. Lloyd and they eventually would donate the Lincoln statue as one of the gifts to replace those destroyed in the fire.[22] The exact date of the statue’s arrival on campus is unknown with a couple contesting accounts existing. However, by 1926 the Lincoln Statue was already used as a relative location indicator on campus, and appreciation for the statue was evident.[23]
Throughout the statue’s time on the Mankato Campus, it has not been confined to just one location, resting in various buildings. The original spot designated for the Lincoln statue was in the primary of the Old Main building at the Valley Campus.[24] When the first library was constructed at the Valley Campus, it was named the Lincoln Library to honor and respect both Lincoln as a historical figure and to recognize the Lincoln statue’s importance to the college. The statue was also moved to the second floor of the Lincoln Library. While many of the early newspaper articles about Lincoln and the statue of him in Mankato had a positive tone, that feeling was not unanimous. A piece of his coat was taken off and his head was removed in the past; the later incident was done by students from a rival college.[25] The head is now securely on and cannot be screwed off. A library named after Lincoln may appear to be a perfect spot for a statue of Lincoln, but as the university grew remaining at the Valley campus became less feasible. Eventually, the university would relocate to the Highland Campus and the Lincoln statue found a new home at the Centennial Student Union in 1978.[26] It was then moved to what is dubbed the “Lincoln Lounge” in February 2010 and stayed there until it was relocated to the second floor of the Memorial Library.[27]
Despite the Lincoln statue’s long tenure at the Centennial Student Union there was discussion about reevaluating the proper place for the statue to be. The Building and Landmarks Committee was created at the request of President Richard Davenport and Provost Matt Cecil to determine if campus building names and monuments were in compliance with the university’s ideas of and values of inclusion and diversity.[28] The committee was made up of a research team that studied the history of the buildings and landmarks and an advisory team who established guidelines for the research.[29] The research accumulated by identifying four areas of concern about the statue and suggested a course of action. They recommended that the statue is put in an environment where it can be contextualized, specifically the Memorial Library where it is publicly available.[30] The following excerpt lists the concerns:
“1. Abraham Lincoln has a divided public legacy not only at Minnesota State University, Mankato, but also more broadly across our country and our history;
2. the current location of the statue in the Centennial Student Union and lack of interpretive material do not sufficiently foster “inclusiveness, understanding, acceptance, and respect in a
multicultural society” as outlined by System diversity and inclusion goals;
3. because of Lincoln’s order to execute 38 Dakota men in 1862, some Indigenous students and
allies have regularly brought requests to the Student Senate and to administrators to remove the
statue from the Centennial Student Union; and
4. Lincoln’s actions toward Dakota people in 1862 have significant impact in Mankato, our state, and our region, which requires a more complete representation of the history and Lincoln’s
involvement in it, as well as his legacy.”[31]
A final report was written to provide advice and elaborate on how to create a space encouraging academic discussion about the statue. The Lincoln statue review team suggested a three-phase process, the short-range would be in the summer of 2022, where a temporary exhibit would accompany the Lincoln statue to its new home in the Memorial Library.[32] The mid-range phase would last from the fall of 2022 up to the fall of 2023 and would aim to further develop the exhibit while simultaneously providing an educational opportunity for students wishing to partake in the project.[33] The final phase, the long-term plan, is projected for spring 2024 to the spring of 2025 and hopes to conclude with an exhibit that offers a diverse array of perspectives and plenty of information for contextualization.[34]
Ultimately, the controversy about the statues of Lincoln, to me, shows the importance that people attached to him and his legacy in the early twentieth century. That same statue famous during its time made utilizing real casts of Lincoln, chosen to represent American ideals while simultaneously serving as a gift, is the same statue, albeit a smaller plaster version, now found at the University of Minnesota, Mankato. Over the years “Old Abe” has found many different homes at different buildings and even campuses at Mankato. One thing that has not changed is the discussion about the best way to present the statue and Lincoln’s representations, it has continued for over a hundred years. Currently, the university is halfway through their plan to create an environment that fosters informed discussion and includes multiple perspectives about the statue of Lincoln and Lincoln as a person.
Bibliography
“Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Standing Lincoln: A Biographical Monument to Abraham Lincoln and Its Legacy.” Friends of the Lincoln Collection. The Rolland Center, May 10, 2018. https://www.friendsofthelincolncollection.org/lincoln-lore/augustus-saint-gaudenss-standing-lincoln-a-biographical-monument-to-abraham-lincoln-and-its-legacy/.
“Casts of Abraham Lincoln’s Face and Hands.” National Museum of American History. Accessed March 9, 2023. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1368279.
“The Dedication of the Lincoln Memorial.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, February 1, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/linc/lincdedication.htm.
Hansen, James. “Origins of Abe Lincoln Statue a Mystery.” The Reporter. November 2, 1982, Volume 54 edition, sec. Number 23. https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A64177#page/1/mode/2up.
Hoffmann, John. “‘The Animal Himself’: Tracing the Volk Lincoln Sculptures. Part II: Replicas of Volk’s Original Casts.” Winter 2021 42, no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3998/jala.1916.
“Honest Abe Extends Welcome.” College Reporter. February 18, 1944, Volume 16 edition, sec. Issue 15. https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A18372#page/1/mode/2up.
Lee, Kathy. “Old Abe’s Presence Owed to Alumni.” College Reporter. October 15, 1953. https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A19707#page/6/mode/2up/search/Lincoln.
Lincoln Statue Review Team. Rep. Buildings and Landmarks Committee: Findings and Recommendations of the Lincoln Statue Review Team. Mankato, MN, 2021. https://mnsu.learn.minnstate.edu/d2l/le/content/6157746/viewContent/59508028/View.
Mixon, Daardi. Rep. Buildings and Landmarks Review: Findings and Recommendations November 20, 2020, 2020. https://mnsu.learn.minnstate.edu/d2l/le/content/6157746/viewContent/59508021/View.
“Pictures In The Lower Hall.” Among Ourselves. December 8, 1926, Volume 2 edition, sec. Issue 4. https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A16365#page/2/mode/2up/search/Lincoln.
Pulchinski, Adam. “The Headless Lincoln.” The Reporter. February 23, 2010. https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A72583#page/3/mode/2up/search/Lincoln.
Schwartz, Barry. “Iconography and Collective Memory: Lincoln’s Image in the American Mind.” The Social Quarterly 32, no. 3 (1991). https://www.jstor.org/stable/4120910?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
“The Standing Lincoln (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed March 10, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/places/the-standing-lincoln.htm.
[1] Barry Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory: Lincoln’s Image in the American Mind,” The Social Quarterly 32, no. 3 (1991), https://www.jstor.org/stable/4120910?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents, 303.
[2] Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 303.
[3] Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 303.
[4] “Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Standing Lincoln: A Biographical Monument to Abraham Lincoln and Its Legacy,” Friends of the Lincoln Collection (The Rolland Center, May 10, 2018), https://www.friendsofthelincolncollection.org/lincoln-lore/augustus-saint-gaudenss-standing-lincoln-a-biographical-monument-to-abraham-lincoln-and-its-legacy/.
[5] The Roland Center, “Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Standing Lincoln”.
[6] “Casts of Abraham Lincoln’s Face and Hands,” National Museum of American History, accessed March 9, 2023, https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1368279.
[7] National Museum of American History, “Casts of Abraham Lincoln’s Face and Hands”.
[8] John Hoffmann, “‘The Animal Himself’: Tracing the Volk Lincoln Sculptures. Part II: Replicas of Volk’s Original Casts,” Winter 2021 42, no. 1 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3998/jala.1916.
[9] Hoffmann, “The Animal Himself”.
[10] Hoffmann, “The Animal Himself”.
[11] “Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Standing Lincoln: A Biographical Monument to Abraham Lincoln and Its Legacy,” Friends of the Lincoln Collection (The Rolland Center, May 10, 2018), https://www.friendsofthelincolncollection.org/lincoln-lore/augustus-saint-gaudenss-standing-lincoln-a-biographical-monument-to-abraham-lincoln-and-its-legacy/.
[12] The Roland Center, “Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Standing Lincoln”.
[13] The Roland Center, “Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Standing Lincoln”.
[14] “The Standing Lincoln (U.S. National Park Service),” National Parks Service (U.S. Department of the Interior), accessed March 10, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/places/the-standing-lincoln.htm.
[15] Barry Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory: Lincoln’s Image in the American Mind,” The Social Quarterly 32, no. 3 (1991), https://www.jstor.org/stable/4120910?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents, 304.
[16] Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 306.
[17] Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 306.
[18] Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 312.
[19] Schwartz, “Iconography and Collective Memory”, 313.
[20] “The Dedication of the Lincoln Memorial,” National Parks Service (U.S. Department of the Interior, February 1, 2022), https://www.nps.gov/linc/lincdedication.htm.
[21] Kathy Lee, “Old Abe’s Presence Owed to Alumni,” College Reporter, October 15, 1953, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A19707#page/6/mode/2up/search/Lincoln, 7.
[22] Lee, “Old Abe’s Presence Owed to Alumni,” 7.
[23] “Pictures In The Lower Hall,” Among Ourselves, December 8, 1926, Volume 2 edition, sec. Issue 4, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A16365#page/2/mode/2up/search/Lincoln, 2.
[24] “Honest Abe Extends Welcome,” College Reporter, February 18, 1944, Volume 16 edition, sec. Issue 15, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A18372#page/1/mode/2up, 1.
[25] Kathy Lee, “Old Abe’s Presence Owed to Alumni,” College Reporter, October 15, 1953, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A19707#page/6/mode/2up/search/Lincoln, 7.
[26] James Hansen, “Origins of Abe Lincoln Statue a Mystery,” The Reporter, November 2, 1982, Volume 54 edition, sec. Number 23, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A64177#page/1/mode/2up, 16.
[27] Adam Pulchinski, “The Headless Lincoln,” The Reporter, February 23, 2010, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/islandora/object/MSUrepository%3A72583#page/3/mode/2up/search/Lincoln, 3.
[28] Daardi Mixon, “Buildings and Landmarks Review: Findings and Recommendations November 20, 2020,” 2020, https://mnsu.learn.minnstate.edu/d2l/le/content/6157746/viewContent/59508021/View, 1.
[29] Mixon, “Buildings and Landmarks Review”, 1.
[30] Lincoln Statue Review Team, “Buildings and Landmarks Committee: Findings and Recommendations of the Lincoln Statue Review Team,” 2021, https://mnsu.learn.minnstate.edu/d2l/le/content/6157746/viewContent/59508028/View, 3.
[31] Lincoln Statue Review Team, “Buildings and Landmarks Committee,” 2-3.
[32] Lincoln Statue Review Team, “Buildings and Landmarks Committee: Recommendations of the Lincoln Statue Review Team,” December 1, 2021, https://mnsu.learn.minnstate.edu/d2l/le/content/6157746/viewContent/59508026/View, 2.
[33] Lincoln Statue Review Team, “Buildings and Landmarks Committee”, 2.
[34] Lincoln Statue Review Team, “Buildings and Landmarks Committee”, 2.
The Honors Lounge 