Abraham Lincoln: The Hoosier Youth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Abraham Lincoln: The Hoosier Youth
Artist	Paul Manship
Year	16 September 1932
Type	Bronze, Sculpture
Location	Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Owner	Lincoln National Corporation

The sculpture called Abraham Lincoln, The Hoosier Youth is a large bronze statue. It was made by American artist Paul Manship. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company asked him to create it in 1928 for their main office in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The statue is about 12.5 feet (3.8 m) tall. It stands on a special base designed by architect Benjamin Wistar Morris.

The artwork shows a young Abraham Lincoln when he lived in Indiana. Lincoln is sitting on a tree stump. He wears a handmade shirt, buckskin pants, and boots. He holds a book, and an ax leans against his leg. A dog sits next to him. Manship also made four bronze reliefs for the base. These carvings show ideas linked to Lincoln: Charity, Fortitude, Justice, and Patriotism. The statue was officially shown to the public on September 16, 1932.

About the Statue

The Lincoln statue is placed between two parts of the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company's old main building in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This large bronze statue is about 12.5 feet (3.8 m) tall. It shows Lincoln as a young man from the frontier. He has a serious, thoughtful, and slightly sad look. These feelings were often used to describe Lincoln throughout his life.

Lincoln is sitting on a tree stump. He holds a partly closed book in his right hand. An ax leans against his right leg. His left hand rests on the head of a dog sitting beside him. Lincoln wears a homemade shirt, buckskin pants, and boots. These clothes show his simple life on the frontier. The ax stands for Lincoln's youth in Indiana's wild areas. The book shows how smart he was. The dog is a sign of his love for animals, his kindness to people, and his protective nature.

It is not known if Lincoln had a dog when he was young. However, Lincoln's friend and writer, William Herndon, told a story. He said Lincoln refused to leave a dog behind when his family moved to Illinois in 1830. The dog was traveling with their wagons but would not cross an icy stream. The 21-year-old Lincoln took off his shoes and socks. He walked through the cold water to get the dog. He carried it back in his arms to join the group.

The bronze statue stands on a base designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris. He was the architect for the Lincoln National building and also a sculptor. This base has four special carvings by Manship. Each carving is on one side of the base. They show qualities linked to Lincoln: Charity (kindness), Fortitude (courage), Justice (fairness), and Patriotism (love for one's country). These carvings, like the main statue, are made in a simple, almost Art Deco style. This style is typical of Manship's work. The base sits on a granite bottom. The total height of the statue and its base is about 22 feet (6.7 m).

History of the Artwork

In 1928, the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company asked sculptor Paul Manship to create a statue of Abraham Lincoln. They wanted it for their main office in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company leaders wanted "an amazing piece of art." They hoped it would be "one of the most famous monuments in the world." Benjamin Wistar Morris, the architect for the building, suggested Manship for the job.

Manship wanted to show Lincoln as a young dreamer and poet. He did not want to show him as an older frontiersman who split logs. His first idea was to show Lincoln with his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Manship made four small models of Nancy Hanks and Boy Abraham Lincoln. But he decided against the mother and son idea. Instead, he chose to make a single statue of Lincoln as a young man.

Manship brought a hound dog from Kentucky to his studio in Paris. He used this dog as a model for the sculpture of Lincoln. Manship finished his first drawing in 1929, and it was approved. He then worked on the plaster model in his studios in Paris and New York in 1931. The bronze statue was cast at the Compagnie des Bronzes in Brussels, Belgium. It was then shipped to the United States. The statue and the four relief carvings were finished in Manship's New York studio during the winter of 1931–32. The sculpture was officially opened in Fort Wayne on September 16, 1932. The plaster model is now kept at the Musée bruxellois des industries et du travail in Brussels, Belgium. This museum is on the site of the old factory where the statue was cast.

A picture of the statue is on the cover of the book Marks of Lincoln on Our Land.

About the Artist

Paul Howard Manship (1885–1966) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was a very skilled sculptor with a worldwide reputation. He received the job to create the Lincoln sculpture in 1928. To prepare for the project, Manship learned about Lincoln's youth. He visited the areas where Lincoln lived in Kentucky and Indiana. There were no photographs of Lincoln until he was 37 years old. Manship also talked with experts and writers about Lincoln. These included Louis Warren, Carl Sandburg, and Ida Tarbell. Manship was paid $75,000 for the Lincoln statue. This was a huge amount of money, especially since it was finished in 1932 during the Great Depression.

Images for kids

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  Justice

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  Fortitude

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  Charity