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- The thoughts that concerned me most in making this statue were the necessities of representing a vital energy, lean physical strength, and a tree-like growth suggestive of the strong roots of character that were growing and manifest as early as his Indiana years. In the rather knotty and active forms of the body, I have tried to express that, as well as the rough warmth of his frontier humanity and the ungainliness of his bony frame.
In the simple but rough-surfaced pedestal, and in the quiet shadowed, thoughtful head, I wanted to suggest the very simple, classic character of his mind - as well as the loneliness and tragedy of his life.
In the hair, I tried for boyishness and humor. I felt it unimportant to invent a purely imaginary portrait of how Lincoln might have looked at twenty-one years. Our knowledge of his appearance, on which the popular symbol of Lincoln is based, is from photographs taken after his fortieth year; my face, therefore, is a compromise between the unknown Indiana youth and the pre-presidential Illinois lawyer.
The true look of Lincoln during his Indiana years is as unimportant as the historical accuracy of his clothing. In favor of representing his character and his contemporary significance to the best advantage, I have subordinated every literal element except the book. In the light of Lincoln's whole life, the axe is unimportant as the book.
The placement of the figure was chosen for two reasons: I felt that Lincoln should be placed back among the trees on the plaza, since the forest was his Indiana experience; and it would be difficult to compete in scale with the open plaza and building were the figure to be placed in the open. Too large a figure in sculpture produces an inhuman and unreal effect. (en)
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