Daniel Chester French was of the most prolific & acclaimed American sculptors of the late nineteenth & early twentieth centuries. He is best known for his design of the monumental work, the statue of Abraham Lincoln (1920) in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC.

1877 "Peace and Vigilance," Old Post Office, N 8th St at Olive St, St. Louis, Missouri (USA). By renowned artist Daniel Chester French [1850-1931]. Moved indoors in 1989. "Vigilance is on the ball. She is alert, scanning the horizon. Her posture is relaxed, but a sword is ready in her right hand. Peace, on the other hand, is harder to interpret. She holds an olive branch in her left hand (I don't know if the lefty olive has a meaning) but, frankly, she looks depressed rather than peaceful. Maybe her lover left, her dog died and, as the old Commander Cody song has it, she's down to seeds and stems again, too. The eagle shrieks over the whole scene. Vigilance might appreciate the scouting help, but how is Peace going to get any, well, peace with that screaming bird over her head? Maybe that's why she's depressed."

1905 - Angel of Peace, Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, Massachusetts (USA). Sculpted by Daniel Chester French [1850-1931]. George Robert White [1847-1922] was "a well known Boston philanthropist who made his fortune with the Weeks & Potter Drug Company." French created many famous memorials, including the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

September 2, 1912 - Standing Lincoln Statue, Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska (USA). "The Gettysburg Address [November 19, 1863] is carved into the granite backdrop, and Abraham Lincoln is depicted as just having finished that memorable speech. Sculptor Daniel Chester French [1850-1931] collaborated with architect Henry Bacon [1866-1924] to provide the statue's setting. French and Bacon are most famous for their work on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. At the statue's dedication, Nebraska orator William Jennings Bryan [1860-1925] spoke to a crowd of thousands."

February 22, 1913 - National Memorial to the North American Indian, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York City, New York (USA). "Dedicateed by President Taft but never built. The brainchild of [department store magnate] Rodman Wanamaker [1863-1928]. Designed by architect Thomas Hastings [1860-1929] & sculptor Daniel Chester French [1850-1931]. The bronze memorial was to be 165 feet tall -- taller than the Statue of Liberty -- and cost around $500,000. It would feature an Indian standing on an Aztec-like pyramid atop an Egyptian Revival complex of museums, galleries & libraries." /// "Between 1908 & 1913, Wanamaker sponsored three photographic expeditions to the American Indians intended to document a vanishing way of life & make the Indian 'first-class citizens' to save them from extinction. At that time, Indians were viewed as a 'Vanishing Race.'"

1921 - Fountain, DuPont Circle, Washington, DC (USA). Features carvings of three classical figures symbolizing the sea, the stars & the wind. Designed by Daniel Chester French [1850-1931] & architect Henry Bacon, the co-creators of the Lincoln Memorial. Inscribed "Erected by the Congress of the United States." Replaced an 1884 statue of Samuel Francis Du Pont [1803-1865], a rear admiral during the Civil War. (The statue was moved to Rockford Park in Wilmington, Delaware, seat of the DuPont family.)

May 30, 1922 - Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC (USA). Contains famous seated statue of Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French [1850-1931]. Memorial has engraved texts of the Gettysburg Address & the Second Inaugural Address. The latter concludes, "...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

May 30, 1922 - Murals "Emancipation of a Race" & "Unification," Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC (USA). By Jules Guerin [1866-1946]. Above the texts of the two addresses.

April 9, 1939 - Marion Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC (USA).

August 28, 1963 - Inscription, Steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC (USA). Marks where Martin Luther King, Jr., stood when he delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech on August 28, 1963.