On July 28, 1866-148 years ago today-the U.S. Congress awarded artist Vinnie Ream a commission to sculpt a statue of Abraham Lincoln. This is notable for two reasons. First, Vinnie Ream (left) was a female sculptor, the first of her gender ever to receive such a commission. Second, she was just 18 years old at the time, also making her the youngest artist ever to receive a government commission. Her white marble statue of President Lincoln was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol rotunda on January 25, 1871, when she was only 23. Later, Vinnie Ream exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. We know that Congressman and Mrs. James A. Garfield attended that exposition. She also sculpted the Admiral David G. Farragut statue (right) located in Farragut Square in Washington, D.C. which was dedicated by President James A. Garfield on April 25, 1881. Vinnie Ream married Richard L. Hoxie, an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in 1878. She died at age 66 on January 12, 1914 and is interred alongside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 22:00:01 +0000
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