Seated Lincoln (in Grant Park)

The solemn, thoughtful Seated Lincoln is the only monument in an area of Grant Park that was designated as the Court of Presidents. Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), an Irish immigrant now recognized as one of the greatest sculptors of the 19th century created the artwork. Although Saint-Gaudens’ Standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park is often considered superior to this sculpture, the artist worked laboriously to have the Seated Lincoln evoke the sense of loneliness that burdened Lincoln at the time of the Civil War. Cast in 1908, a year after Saint-Gaudens died, the monument was not installed for another twenty years.  During this period,  the Seated Lincoln was displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 1915 San Francisco Exposition. Finally, in 1926, the South Park Commissioners installed the bronze figure and its enormous 150-foot wide marble setting (known as an exedra) by architect Stanford White.