Lot 160: SCULPTURE

SCULPTURE- ORIGINAL PLASTER LIFE PORTRAIT BUST OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN EXECUTED BY THOMAS DOW JONES (OHIO, 1811-1881), DATED 1861. JONES WAS GRANTED SITTINGS BY LINCOLN AT SPRINGFIELD IN THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY. THE ORIGINAL CLAY MODELLO SERVED AS THE BASIS FOR TWO MARBLE BUSTS AND A SMALL HANDFUL OF PLASTER CASTS. THE BUST IS NOTABLE FOR ITS VIVID LIKENESS WHICH CAPTURES BOTH HIS RUGGED PHYSICAL FEATURES AND HUMANITY. IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY LIFE PORTRAITS OF LINCOLN TO DEPICT HIM IN GOOD HUMOR. THIS EXAMPLE SIGNED "T. JONES SCULPT 1861" IN THE PLASTER. ONE OF THE FEW OTHER EXAMPLES WAS PURCHASED IN RECENT DECADES BY THE NATIONAL PORTAIT GALLERY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. LIFE PORTRAIT BUSTS OF LINCOLN ARE VIRTUALLY UNOBTAINABLE IN THE MARKETPLACE. LIGHTLY OVER PAINTED AT AN EARLY DATE OR PERHAPS ORIGINAL. A FINE EXAMPLE. HEIGHT 33"