LILY TOLPO an artist
The Lincoln-Douglas Joint Debate of 1858 Sculpture in Freeport, Illinois, the Waukegan Heroic Lincoln sculptural historic reliefs at the Lake County courthouse, The Freeport Doctrine a historical montage oil painting and prints depicting the Freeport 1858 Lincoln Douglas debates, and the Reading Lincoln sculpture are some of the many art works relating to Lincoln that Lily Tolpo has created in her long art career. Lily Tolpo is an artist in her 6th decade of professional artistic efforts from studios in Illinois, her birth state.
Tolpo’s most celebrated sculpture is the Lincoln-Douglas Joint Debate of 1858 sculpture for the city of Freeport, Illinois at the Freeport Doctrine debate site. It was presented in 1992 to Freeport by the Lincoln Douglas Debate Society committee chair Mickey Martin. This was a community effort to commemorate the famous debate that began Abraham Lincoln’s political rise. The sculpture is located on the actual debate site in Freeport. The celebration of the debate was captured by a C-Span documentary, and one of the bronze models was presented to the Bill Clinton White House.
In 1941, Lily Tolpo opened her professional career with a one-woman show at the Drake Hotel in her home town, Chicago. Few art galleries were available for women’s art shows at that time so she exhibited at the Drake which was a popular art venue in the 1940’s.
Lily Mark Tolpo married artist Carl Tolpo and together with their three children were living at 141 E. Ontario on Michigan avenue in Chicago. At these studios she assisted Carl in his development of his renowned sculpture of Abraham Lincoln. Through the years this sculpture was placed in Washington DC’s Ford’s theater, the White House, the Lake County Courthouse, and the Barrington, Illinois, High School. There is now a website about this sculpture at www.LincolnArtbyTolpo.com.
The Tolpos raised their children in Barrington, Illinois. Lily Tolpo painted many portraits of prominent Chicago area figures. In 1969, the Tolpos moved to Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and continued their work. She created a monumental sculptural steel and brass chandelier, Law and Justice, for the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1971. In 1976, they produced the sculpture of Senator Everett M. Dirksen for the State Capitol. After Carl’s unexpected death in 1976, she continued her artistic efforts. Through the 1980’s she cast and supervised castings of Carl’s Lincoln sculptures. It was during this time that she perfected her concept of the Tri-Quad sculpture, an abstraction based on many of the ideas expressed by Abraham Lincoln about union, tolerance, and interdependence. There is now a website about this sculpture at www.Triquad.info.
Blackhawk, the Sauk-Fox tribal chief that Abraham Lincoln fought in the 1830’s, was the subject of a heroic-sized portrait. She also painted a commemorative painting The Turning Point, for the sesquicentennial of the Blackhawk Wars. The painting celebrated the peaceful meeting between the relatives of the combatants, Illinois natives and Native American Sauk-Fox descendants. Her research into these events and persons was assisted by noted Lincoln historian Ralph Newman who was always helpful to Tolpo in all her creative efforts.
Mary Todd Lincoln was sculpted by Lily Tolpo as part of her Great American Series.
Her prolific work in this series included sculptures of General U.S. Grant and a sculpture of U.S. Grant as president.
Lily Tolpo was a community artist. She was active in historical societies, women’s organizations, political activism, local arts organizations, and neighborhood community activities.
Throughout the 1990’s and to current times Lily Tolpo has been very involved with the Abraham Lincoln Center of Chicago. She created 52 portraits of important Chicago figures and she cast the many Abraham Lincoln humanitarian awards given by the Abraham Lincoln Center.
The unfinished monument to Abraham Lincoln by Carl Tolpo at the Lake County
Courthouse was finally completed by Lily Tolpo. Missing were the two bronze reliefs, each 6 foot by 8 foot, on the sides of the granite pedestal. Lily created one relief commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s eventful visit to Waukegan, Illinois, and a second honoring the Civil War soldiers of Lake County.
Beginning in 2004, with the Freeport Rotary Club, Lily Tolpo has created the Reading Lincoln. This unique sculpture represents Lincoln reading to young son Tad. For more information about this literacy and the arts project go to www.LincolnReading.com.
A life-sized bronze sculpture will placed at the new Freeport Library.
In 2006, Tolpo completed a heroic-sized sculpture of First Lady, Julia Dent Grant, for the grounds of the historic Grant Home in Galena, Illinois. She made the bold choice to show Julia Grant as the strong-minded and courageous woman who aided her husband’s efforts in the Civil War and served as First Lady during a harrowing reconstruction period after the Civil War. The strength depicted by this sculpture is a tribute to strong women everywhere.
Lily Tolpo’s latest efforts are to complete a historical painting about Libby Colt, the wife of Sam Colt who owned the Colt Firearm Co after Sam’s unexpected death at age 47.
Tolpo continues to make casts of her husband’s Lincoln sculptures and of her own sculptures of Great Americans, including the famous Lincoln Douglas Debate Sculpture.
For Lily Tolpo, art is her life. In her own words……
“Art can be a vehicle by which we find a means of evaluating life. Through our senses, art leads us to the realm of truth. Truth and beauty are values individuals discover for themselves. My life as an artist is devoted to creating works that express the beautiful truths that I have discovered, learned, and experienced. When others gain satisfying pleasure, expanded perception, or inspired purpose from viewing my works, I will have reached my artistic goals.”
Lily Tolpo