#vinnie ream

Sculpting History

On July 28, 1866, Vinnie Ream (1847-1914) carved her place in history, literally. At just 18 years old, this Madison, Wisconsin-born sculptor became the first and youngest woman ever commissioned by the U.S. government to create a statue, an honor few artists ever achieve. Her subject was President Abraham Lincoln. The marble statue was unveiled in 1871 and still stands in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Lavinia Ellen “Vinnie” Ream Hoxie’s remarkable journey is profiled in Famous Wisconsin Artists and Architects by Hannah Heidi Levy, a 2004 volume published by Badger Books in Oregon, Wisconsin. The book highlights over 100 influential figures in Wisconsin’s artistic and architectural history, from household names like Frank Lloyd Wright and Georgia O’Keeffe to underrecognized talents like Ream. Through artist bios, historical context, and visual references, Levy celebrates Wisconsin’s rich creative heritage.

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Vinnie Ream at work on her Lincoln bust, which rests upon the stand she used in the White House while President Lincoln posed for her.

Lavinia Ellen "Vinnie" Ream Hoxie (September 25, 1847 – November 20, 1914) was an American sculptor. Her most famous work is the statue of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in the United States Capitol rotunda. Ream's Statue of Sequoyah and Statue of Samuel J. Kirkwood, both part of the National Statuary Hall collection. Other notable works by Ream include the Statue of David Farragut and the Bust of Edwin B. Hay, which are also both located in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Ream created works which were displayed at The Woman's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. via Wikipedia

Vinnie Ream: Should a Teenage Girl Sculpt Abraham Lincoln? https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/vinnie-ream-abraham-lincoln/

Photograph of Vinnie Ream taken between 1866 and 1876. Source. Detail.

Vinnie Ream became the first woman to win a US government commission for a statue in 1866—at the age of 18! She created a life-sized figure of President Abraham Lincoln, gazing down at the Emancipation Proclamation he holds in his right hand. Ream and her marble statue caused a huge scandal that raged in Washington, D.C., and across the nation.

The public questioned how this petite, attractive teenager with little artistic training won this coveted opportunity. Senators accused her of seducing congressmen and Civil War generals. Some objected to her sympathetic portrayal of the recently assassinated president. Others criticized her method of creating the marble statue. Like many women artists, she faced many hurdles. Here is the story behind her marble statue of Lincoln that still stands in the US Capitol.

“She was an American sculptor, best remembered for her sculpture of Abraham Lincoln in the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC. She was an amateur who got the commission aged just eighteen, the first woman to win such an assignment from the federal government. In 1875 she beat prominent male artists to win a $20,000 government commission to create a bronze statue of Admiral David G. Farragut. Cast from the propeller of the naval hero's flagship, it stands in Farragut Square, Washington, DC. She gave up sculpture for many years because her husband didn't like it.”

Abraham Lincoln sculpture in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda Sculpted by Vinnie Ream