Abraham Lincoln

Object NameBust

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1910-1915

MediumPainted plaster

Dimensions9 × 6 × 5 in. (22.9 × 15.2 × 12.7 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Richard Draper. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2019.288

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: This 9 in. painted plaster bust, created by Christian Petersen in the early 20th century, depicts Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). One of sculptor’s several studies of Lincoln, it is sculpted from the collarbone upward, with a striking emphasis on his strong features. The surface is painted to mimic a patinated surface of bronze. This work exemplifies Petersen’s early Beaux-Arts style, which is characterized by idealized features inspired by classical Roman and Greek art—cultures that highly valued portraiture and used busts to immortalize important individuals. For Iowa State, this sculpture holds special significance. In July 1862, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, and Iowa became the first state to adopt its provisions, making Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm (now Iowa State University) one of the nation’s first land-grant colleges. Through the public works of art by Christian Petersen and Grant Wood, Abraham Lincoln has become a celebrated symbol of Iowa State University’s land-grant mission. In 1934, Wood collaborated with Petersen to create murals for Iowa State as part of the federal Public Works of Art Project. Wood’s mural, Breaking the Prairie Sod, installed in the Parks Library at Iowa State University, honors Abraham Lincoln’s contribution to the founding of land-grant colleges through the Morrill Act of 1862. The mural features two figures resembling Lincoln, highlighting the values of work ethic and the importance of education.

Published ReferencesThe Jewelers Circular, 1915, as being exhibited at Kent & Elliot jewelers (Attleboro, MA) in June.

SignedSigned on back: C. Petersen.

Locations