 The
evening offered a first view of what
the Lincoln statue will look like.
Sculptor David Seagraves traveled to
Lincoln from his home in Elizabeth,
in northwest Illinois, with an
18-inch tall scale model.
Seagraves is well known in
Lincoln. He helped repair the Indian
mother statue that sits on the
courthouse lawn, and he was the
sculptor of the Civil War soldier
that stands atop the obelisk on the
Broadway and South Kickapoo side of
the courthouse.
This latest project is to create
a life-size statue of Abraham
Lincoln to commemorate his visit to
his namesake town on Oct. 16, 1858.
Lincoln was then campaigning for the
United States Senate.
Seagraves brought his
one-quarter-scale model so that
members of the public could see what
the finished statue will look like.
The full-size statue will be
constructed of bronze.
The scale model, which will be on
display at 114 N. Chicago, is of
man-made clay with a metal internal
frame. When the full-size statue is
completed, it will be sited on the
courthouse square, near the
intersection of Pulaski and South
Kickapoo streets.
Seagraves sculpted the scale
model using a print that shows the
event. "The larger one will have
more detail," he said.
While members of the public,
Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder and the
Abraham Lincoln Statue Committee
looked on, Seagraves made tiny
adjustments to the statue, which had
just endured a 150-mile trip by car.
The clay was still very pliable and
the statue had been jostled during
the trip. Seagraves wanted to ensure
this unveiling was perfect.
When he is ready to start on the
full-size rendering, he first will
construct an aluminum frame onto
which he will mold the clay-like
substance he used on the scale
model. With the statue in a standing
position, illuminated by lights that
create a shadow-free environment,
Seagraves will go to work creating
this work of art. The sculptor wants
his finished piece to be so detailed
and dynamic that one technique he
uses is to dress a manikin in
clothes similar to what Lincoln
would have worn. This will allow him
to see the drape of the clothing so
that he can create the folds and
creases to perfection on the
finished statue.
When Seagraves is finished with
the clay statue, it will be shipped
to a foundry in Mount Morris for the
final casting in bronze, an alloy
made mostly of copper and silicon
metal.
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Seagraves grimaced when he
described the process of casting it.
"They will cut my work into pieces
to make the mold for the bronze
casting," he said. "They can't do it
with the statue in one piece."
After the individual parts of the
statue are cast, the final assembly
can begin. Some welding will be
required, but the signs of welding
will be removed so that the statue
will appear seamless. When finished,
a process taking at least two
months, it will weigh approximately
500 pounds. The final step will be
to apply a patina to the statue to
give it the correct color.
The Abraham Lincoln Statue
Committee is hard at work raising
the $48,000 needed for this project.
Bill Donath, president of the
Logan County Genealogical &
Historical Society, has applied for
three grants.
Members of the committee are
speaking at local service
organizations. They have worked as
servers at Culver's to raise money.
Area schools have been contacted and
asked for help.
All of the mayors of Logan County
communities have been contacted in
order to make this a countywide
project.
The committee welcomes donations
of any amount. "We don't care if it
is a dollar," Roger Matson
explained. "We want people to feel
they are a part of history."
In 1853, the town of Lincoln was
founded and given its name, the name
of one of the founding partners, who
later would be called Mr. President.
In 1858 while campaigning for the
Senate, Abraham Lincoln stopped by
to speak from the Logan County
Courthouse steps to thousands of
Logan County residents. Many of
those attending had to travel for
hours on barely passable roads to
get to Lincoln to hear him. This
historic moment in the history of
the town of Lincoln will be captured
for all time, thanks to the
dedication and hard work of the
Abraham Lincoln Statue Committee,
and the genius of sculptor David
Seagraves.
[By CURT FOX]
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