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 “Return Visit” – which stands 31 feet tall and weighs
37,000 pounds – depicts Lincoln discussing the Gettysburg Address
with a modern man. It will be displayed in Springfield until
September of next year.
“The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is home to one
of the five copies of the Gettysburg Address written in Lincoln’s
own hand. It’s also dedicated to helping ordinary people understand
Lincoln’s extraordinary life and legacy. I think that makes us the
perfect place for a sculpture featuring both the speech and Lincoln
talking to a citizen,” said Alan Lowe, executive director of the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
The sculpture is being brought to Springfield thanks to a
partnership between the presidential library and the Springfield
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“What an incredible opportunity to host Seward Johnson’s “Return
Visit” monumental Abraham Lincoln statue for two summers. The City
of Springfield is beyond thrilled for this opportunity to draw
tourists to our city with this unique experience,” said Scott Dahl,
executive director of Visit Springfield.
This piece is the enlarged version of Johnson’s original work of art
commissioned for Gettysburg Plaza in Pennsylvania. The life-scale
sculpture stands near the historic Wills House in Gettysburg and
depicts President Lincoln gesturing with his famous hat to the
bedroom in the Wills House where he finished writing the Gettysburg
Address before delivering the speech at the dedication of the
Soldiers National Cemetery, Nov. 19, 1863. Beside him stands a
“modern man” representing all of us. He holds a gigantic bronze copy
of the address in his hands, indicating that these words are as
valid to our contemporary life as they were in Lincoln’s time.
On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous
speech ever given by President Lincoln. In his eulogy for the slain
president, he called the Gettysburg Address a "monumental act" and
said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long
remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The
world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember
it. The battle itself was less important than the speech.”
Artist Seward Johnson is a world-renowned sculptor
who has had more than 450 life-size cast bronze figures featured in
private collections and museums in the United States, Canada, Europe
and Asia, as well as on public view at prominent locales such as
Times Square and Rockefeller Center in New York City, Pacific Place
of Hong Kong, Les Halles in Paris and Via Condotti in Rome.
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Johnson’s spectacular monumental-scale works have been on public
view or been permanently sited in Australia, Normandy, Brussels, New York City,
San Diego, Palm Springs, Washington, D.C., and Rome.
Regionally, people may be most familiar with Johnson’s works on display in
downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue. Over the years, these displays included the
giant Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing aloft, and the farmers with the
pitchfork in homage to painter Grant Wood. Even a rendition of Shakespeare’s
King Lear has awed the human-scale population and delighted passersby. The
Lincoln sculpture has been on view in Chicago and in Troy, Ohio, before most
recently travelling to Peoria, Ill.
Sculptor Seward Johnson notes: "President Lincoln's character and
accomplishments are imprinted forever on the nation he loved and served so well.
He has been a hero to millions of people and certainly has inspired me
throughout my life."
The Seward Johnson Atelier, Inc., was incorporated to promote the appreciation
of, and education about, sculpture and public art in general, primarily through
the creation, maintenance, sales and public placement of Seward Johnson’s
artwork.
For information about the artist see
www.sewardjohnsonatelier.org.
The Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum uses a combination of rigorous
scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in the life and times
of Abraham Lincoln. Visitors can see ghosts come to life on stage, watch TV
coverage of the 1860 presidential election, roam through the Lincoln White
House, experience booming cannons in a Civil War battle and come face to face
with priceless original Lincoln artifacts.
The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents,
photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to
all aspects of Illinois history.
For more information, visit
www.PresidentLincoln.illinois.gov.
[Christopher Wills
Communications Director
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum] |
