1. Creator/Author:
  2. Leonard W. Volk (11)

Abraham Lincoln Short Bust

Creator:
Leonard W. Volk, Mazzolini Artcraft Company
Location:
Ohio, Cleveland
Origin Date:
1904-1930
Materials:
ceramic
Measurements:
overall: 21 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in x 9 in
Item ID:
71.2009.081.1219
Holding Institution:
Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum
Available for Viewing:
No
Category:
Fine Art

Description

This short bust of Abraham Lincoln depicts him from the neck up. He is clean shaven and directly facing the viewer. The bust is a plaster copy painted with a light copper colored artificial patina and rests on a small square pedestal that sits on a two tier cylindrical pedestal. On the back of the pedestal is an engraving that was originally part of the casting mold which reads, "Abraham Lincoln Modelled From Life By Leonard W. Volk Chicago, 1860 Replica." A small sticker on the bottom of the pedestal identifies it as from the Mazzolini Artcraft Company. The entire piece is a dark bronze color. For more information on the sculptural studies of Lincoln by Leonard W. Volk see "Lincoln Lore" issues 241, 1047, and 1421-1425. Leonard W. Volk was a New York born artist, who under the patronage of Stephen A. Douglass studied his craft in Rome, Italy. Volk and his family settled in Chicago, Illinois in 1857. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln agreed to allow Volk to create a bust of him, which did involve having a life mask of Lincoln made. The life mask that Volk created was used in a number of later busts and statues of Abraham Lincoln. This piece seems to be a replica of the original bust that Volk created in 1860. Part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum