Explore the Historical information of this artwork.
The Indiana Statehouse' plaster bust of Lincoln was patented June 3, 1862. Thomas Dow Jones' original bronze sculpture was cast in 1861 and is believed to be one of the earliest depictions of a bearded Abraham Lincoln.
Thomas Dow Jones was commissioned by the leading Republicans of Cincinnati to sculpt a portrait bust of president-elect Lincoln before his inauguration in March 1861. Jones arrived in Springfield on Christmas Day with letters of recommendation from two of his most recent clients, Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase and Thomas Ewing (General William T. Sherman's father-in-law). Lincoln consented to sit for Thomas Dow Jones and gave him permission to sculpt the president-elect's likeness at the St. Nicholas Hotel in Springfield, Illinois until Lincoln's inauguration.
Springfield, Illinois Indiana Statehouse Indiana Abraham Lincoln plaster bust Salmon P. Chase Thomas Dow Jones