Abraham Lincoln (Sculpture)

In the center of the Lincoln Memorial, the remarkable sculpture Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French dominates the space. Under French's supervision, the Piccirilli brothers executed the sculpture. The sculpture is actually 28 separate pieces of Georgia marble, carefully assembled virtually seamlessly. The sculpture took four years to complete.

French devoted several years to researching Abraham Lincoln and studying photographs of him. French decided that the special qualities found in the sixteenth president were his strength combined with his compassionate nature.

The statue of President Abraham Lincoln, which stands 19 feet tall and weighs 170 tons, honors Lincoln for holding the country together through its painful Civil War and for abolishing slavery with his Emancipation Proclamation of 1862.