Daniel Chester French

Statue of Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.,
Theodor Horydczak, photographer, circa 1920-1950.
Washington as It Was, 1923-1959.

American sculptor Daniel Chester French was born in Exeter, New Hampshire on April 20, 1850. His colossal seated figure of Abraham Lincoln presides over the Lincoln Memorial.

Reared in Cambridge and Concord, Massachusetts, he was embraced by members of the Transcendentalist community including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Author and fellow Concord resident Louisa May Alcott encouraged young French to pursue a career as an artist. Louisa's sister, artist May Alcott, was his early teacher.

French studied in Boston and New York prior to receiving his first commission for the 1875 statue The Minute Man. Standing near the North Bridge in Concord, in the Minute Man National Historical Park, this work commemorates events at the North Bridge, the site of "the shot heard 'round the world". An American icon, images derivative of The Minute Man statue appeared on defense bonds, stamps, and posters during World War II.

With the success of The Minute Man came opportunities to study abroad. After a year in Italy, French opened a studio in Washington, D.C. Additional trips to Europe and a friendship with fellow sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens resulted in more ambitious work beginning with the impressive General Lewis Cass executed for the U.S. Capitol in 1888.

By the turn of the century, French was America's preeminent monumental sculptor. The Angel of Death Staying the Hand of the Sculptor, created for Boston's Forest Hills Cemetery; John Harvard, located at Harvard University; and a standing Abraham Lincoln at the west entrance to the Nebraska State Capitol are a few of the important monuments French produced during a long and productive career. Daniel Chester French died on October 7, 1931.

Copy of Minuteman Statue,
Theodor Horydczak, photographer, circa 1920-1950.
Washington as It Was, 1923-1959.

• Search across the American Memory collections of photographs and prints on Daniel French to find more images of his work.
• Read more about American artists. Search the Today in History Archive on artist for features on painters John Trumbull and Thomas Moran as well as sculptor Alexander Calder.
• Search the Today in History Archive on transcendentalist to find features about Daniel C. French's Concord neighbors Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and the Alcott family.
• Since 1864, individual states have contributed to National Statuary Hall at The United State Capitol. View photographs of this collection of ninety-six statues online at the The United States Capitol web site.