The Lincoln Sculpture

MR. LINCOLN RETURNS TO WASHINGTON

You pass it every day going to school, a sports event, a concert, or to the pharmacy and store.  It is easy to recognize the tall man with the stovepipe hat and beard on North Wilmor Road just south of Five Points and north of the Fire Station.  Who is the guy standing next to him?  News reports labeled him the Common Man.

Interestingly, Mr. Abraham Lincoln was the most common of all men, never forgetting his roots but rising to lead a nation in peril.  It is a simple depiction of two men, one great and one common, sharing the message in the Gettysburg Address.

In 1991, Seward Johnson, renowned sculptor and heir of the Johnson and Johnson business, was commissioned to do a bronze sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, which is realistic down to the size of his shoes, clothing style, and bronze copies of his face and hands.  His original, not quite the size of the one we have, is located in the square at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and depicts the November 1863 visit to Gettysburg.  The statue became so popular that Seward created eight giant duplicates ranging from 25 to 32 feet tall made of aluminum.  These replicas travel from place to place all over the country.  

The rendering is called “Return Visit” and has lived on Michigan Avenue in Chicago from 2016-2017, coinciding with the Cubs winning the World Series.  For a time, the Common Man wore a Cubs fan shirt over his white sweater.  Mr. Lincoln then traveled to the Peoria Riverfront Museum from 2017-2019 and then to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.  Due to repairs, Springfield needed to relocate “Return Visit,” so John Morris contacted the city to gauge interest in bringing the statue here, given our historic relationship with Mr. Lincoln. City officials had only a moment of hesitation as they considered a proper location for a statue of that magnitude.   Washington Historical Society and the Chamber of Commerce joined forces with the city.  The $20,000 cost of moving was covered by private donors.

The arrival was November 17, 2020, which gave Washington something more positive to commemorate that day. November 18 coincided with the 157th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. We don’t know when Mr. Lincoln and the Common Man will move on, so we should appreciate that sight on the horizon while it's here.