A perfect marriage of sculptor and subject
It鈥檚 a conundrum: the most instantly recognizable sculpture by an American 鈥� the colossal marble 鈥淎braham Lincoln鈥� reigning over the Lincoln Memorial in Washington 鈥� was created by an artist few people can name. Harold Holzer鈥檚 Monument Man: The Life and Art of Daniel Chester French aims to correct this art history deficit. French, who lived from 1850-1931, was famously taciturn in public, so no previous full-fledged biography of him existed. Holzer writes that French was 鈥渁 man of many accomplishments but few words.鈥� In terms of monuments, however, French was indeed eloquent.
As Holzer says, speaking of French鈥檚 crowning masterpiece, the sculpture of Lincoln, 鈥淭he artist, the subject, and the hour had met.鈥� The same might be said of Holzer. In undertaking this biography, which is augmented by photographs, Holzer combines his expertise in history and art. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the biographer is an authority on Lincoln and Civil War history, in addition to his 23 years as head of external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Holzer鈥檚 scholarship is impeccable. He screened microfilm to track down newspaper accounts, visited historical societies, and scoured family papers for facts and anecdotes. Fortunately, French left letters and journals that provide insight into his life, loves, thoughts, and work.
The biography traces French鈥檚 evolution from a 16-year-old in Concord, Mass., where he carved turnips with a jackknife, to his acclaim as America鈥檚 foremost sculptor of Civil War-era monuments. He got off to a fast start, sculpting the seven-foot-tall, bronze 鈥淢inute Man鈥� unveiled in Concord in 1875 when French was 25. His next major work was a bust of his neighbor, the 76-year-old Ralph Waldo Emerson. French captured not only the philosopher鈥檚 gaze but also his physiognomy, spurring Emerson to admit: 鈥淭hat is the face that I shave.鈥�
French鈥檚 ascent was steady, as he combined allegorical figures (winged goddesses were a specialty) with naturalistic portraiture. Holzer discusses well-known works like the statue of Harvard University鈥檚 founder 鈥淛ohn Harvard鈥� (1883-4), 鈥淎lma Mater鈥� (1900-1903) at Columbia University, and the moving Milmore Memorial (1889-93) in Boston鈥檚 Forest Hills cemetery.
To understand French鈥檚 contributions, background on how the Neoclassic style dominated before 1850 would have provided context. Until he came along, commissions for memorials to American heroes went to foreign artists like Jean-Antoine Houdon. (Houdon鈥檚 first bust of George Washington draped him in a toga as if he鈥檇 just stepped out of the Roman Forum, but Washington insisted on a military uniform in the full-length statue.)聽
French discarded this classicized, idealized approach. He fused naturalism with emotive, poetic treatment, creating realistic portraits that were symbols of something larger than life. It鈥檚 this quality that distinguishes his greatest work, 鈥淎braham Lincoln鈥� (1911-22), an awe-inspiring culmination of French鈥檚 talent and ambition.
The book lands at a timely moment of debate about Civil War monuments, prompting thought about what makes one monument grand, while others become roosts for pigeons. Certainly the scale of 鈥淟incoln,鈥� created from 6,000 cubic feet of Georgia marble, makes it impressive. The seated figure is 19 feet high on an 11-foot plinth. The setting, in a columned temple modeled on the Parthenon by its architect Henry Bacon, enhances the statue鈥檚 grandeur.聽
Yet the sculpture鈥檚 position as a symbol of national values and a repository of collective memory accounts for its power. The Lincoln Memorial was the site of Marian Anderson鈥檚 concert in 1939, after the African American singer was rejected by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 1963 鈥淚 Have a Dream鈥� speech used the setting to underline his message.
Holzer explains how the sculpture鈥檚 form makes it a masterpiece as much as 鈥渢he mystic chords of memory鈥� inspired by Lincoln鈥檚 leadership in a time of crisis. The figure鈥檚 expressive hands show strength and determination. His steely yet sorrowful stare 鈥� so unlike the far-off gaze of classical statues 鈥� conveys dignity and humanity. This integration of the real and ideal marks French鈥檚 ultimate triumph. 鈥淚f I am articulate at all,鈥� the sculptor said, 鈥渋t is in my images.鈥� The biography beautifully supplies the words to go along with those images.
