Lincoln Memorial sketch model

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Daniel Chester French created a quick sketch model of the Lincoln Memorial statue in June 1915. His friend and architect Henry Bacon had long wanted him to do the sculpture. After discussing what the statue should look like, they decided it should be of Lincoln seated, making him appear more human and approachable than standing tall. This small model is about 10 inches or 25.4 cm in size and isn't very detailed since it was meant as a preliminary concept. However, its spirit can still be seen in the final sculpture. French ultimately changed the position of the legs and hands in this model, with the left foot extended and the right hand clenched. The marble statue at the Lincoln Memorial shows the opposite, with the right foot extended and the left hand clenched. The initial sketch model showed Lincoln sitting in a chair with two side stretchers and a raised square back. French later changed the chair to a Roman-style throne with a smooth rounded exterior and no raised square back. The concept of the fasces was carried over to the final design. Photographs of this model and the study model used for scaling up show that they were largely mirrored in the final sculpture. This small model can be seen at Chesterwood, near Stockbridge, Massachusetts, sitting on the corner of the studio's full-scale model of the Lincoln Memorial statue.