Lavinia “Vinnie” Ream

Lavinia “Vinnie” Ream (1847–1914) was an artist and sculptor whose supporters convinced President Lincoln to model for her to sculpt a bust. Later, in 1866, when Congress commissioned a full-size marble statue of Lincoln for the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, 18-year-old Ream became the youngest person and the first woman to receive an art commission from the federal government.