O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring: But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead -Walt Whitman The familiar lines have long been what I think of when I remember Abraham Lincoln and what he did. This first stanza is still my favorite; maybe because it has that same captivation that all good beginnings have. It draws you in. Daniel Chester French completed this monumental sculpture in 1922. It is fantastically done! French included every emotion he had about the man in his work on this piece. The expression on Lincoln’s face is one of contemplation; not too heavy, hinted at peaceful. Personally, I think this statue is another example of how beautiful
Michael Aaron Hall, Sculpting in Bronze and Stone