The
Military
Career of General W.W.H. Davis
C ommander of the 104th Pa
History
of 32 N. Broad Street location of
Library/Museum
Lincoln Life Mask
At the suggestion of a young fan, Lincoln grew
a beard, but prior to this in the spring of 1860, Lincoln posed
beardless for sculptor Leonard Volk. Volk’s artistry became
standard for other great works. The life mask lay idle until
the 1880’s when bronze copies of the plaster casting were
made and sold to a few select individuals for $25,000 to help
fund building of the Lincoln Memorial. One of the copies was
later given to sculptor Gutzon Borglum, to aid in the creation
of his likeness of Lincoln when carving Mt. Rushmore National
Monument. Only a few bronze copies survive today in museums
and private collections.
The bronze Lincoln mask in the BCCWRT
Museum collection was made in the 1970’s by the late
Victor Bochetta, and Italian sculptor, in his foundry using
the now lost wax method of hot bronze casting used during Lincoln’s
era. The original, used for this copy of the Volk casting, resides
in the collection of the Chicago History Museum. Mr. Bochetta’s
work represented by a Lincoln bust found on the USS Abraham
Lincoln.
Mr. Volk first met Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln, Illinois, in
1858, during the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and told him that
he would very much like to make a bust of him. Volk was married
to Emily Barlow, cousin of Stephen Douglas, which gave him access
to Lincoln. Lincoln promised that when there was an opportunity
he would sit for him. Volk found him again in the city of Chicago
and immediately approached him to remind him of his promise.
Sculptor Volk had approached Lincoln and he agreed to pose for
a bust. Appointments were made for a visit to the Volk studio
in Portland Block, scheduled for just after breakfast. The subject
arrived promptly and at each subsequent sitting never failed
to be on time. Upon the occasion of the first visit Lincoln
said “Mr. Volk, I have never sat before for a sculptor
or painter, only for daguerreotypes and photographers-what shall
I do?” Sculptor Volk advised him that he would only take
the measurements of his head and shoulder then, and that (Volk)
would make a cast of his face the next morning.
Lincoln sat naturally as the cast was setting observing Volk’s
every move. The process took about an hour before the mold was
removed. The cast came off with some effort on Lincoln’s
part, with both ears perfectly taken. Some of the plaster had
clung to Lincoln’s cheekbones but he was able to bend
his head, take hold of the mold and gradually worked it off
without breaking or damaging the mold.
Lincoln did not have to wait long after his nomination had been
announced at Chicago, before he was besieged by other artists.
Volk was the first and Lincoln would never again appear as the
novice he did in the Volk mask. Sculptor Volk produced the Illinois
statue of James Shields located in the National Statuary Hall
Collection in the United States Capitol building, and the Soldiers
& Sailors Monument in Rochester, New York among others.
In 1907, there is an account of a bronze reproduction being
made of one of the plaster casts of the Volk life mask, in McClure’s
Magazine. The founder doing the casting, commented “what
a beautiful face, that its beauty and character were extraordinary
of construction and what form it has!” The founder inquired
as to whom the mask was of and when told, said he would show
it to other sculptors in Paris for whom he worked. The story
goes that the other sculptors remarked in similar fashion, calling
it “a wonderful specimen.”
Abraham Lincoln’s countenance represents every man with
his face appearing on all matter of things, even more so than
the beloved George Washington, who is considered the father
of his country. Lincoln loved the arts and provided access to
painters and others, even while suffering more abuse as no other
president, from both the American and British press.
