Famed Lincoln Bronze in Chicago Gets New Life
- edepstein1
- Jul 1
- 1 min read
By Ed Epstein
Washington D.C.
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
A restored and rejuvenated statue -- Augustus Saint-Gaudens' famed bronze of a standing Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln Park on Chicago's North Side -- will be reborn this Saturday, the Fourth of July.
The 12-foot-tall statue, originally dedicated in 1887, has undergone repairs and restoration, with the work paid for by the Chicago Park District and the Lincoln Park Conservancy, a non-profit that works to preserve the 12,208-acre park on the shores of Lake Michigan. The event will start at 10 a.m. rain or shine on the Fourth, which marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The program will take place at Dearborn and North Avenue in the vast park's southwest corner.
Saint-Gaudens' statue, known as "Lincoln: The Man," was originally paid for by a $40,000 gift in the will of a Chicago lumber merchant. Saint-Gaudens sculpted the work at his home and studio in Cornish, New Hampshire, which is now a National Park Service site. He used a six-foot-four Vermont farmer as a model, along with casts of Lincoln's face and hands made by sculptor Leonard Volk in Chicago in 1860.
This is not the first time the standing Lincoln has been restored. The Conservancy did similar work in 1989. The latest work has included repairing the bronze statuary and the stone base.
The standing Lincoln by Saint-Gaudens (1847-1907) has been copied at several sites. These include Parliament Square in London and Parque Lincoln in Mexico City.
Photo by Chicago Public Art