PALM 00033

Ezekiel, Moses

Abraham Lincoln

1880

Metal

Bronze

Moses Ezekiel (1844-1917) was a well-known and prolific sculptor during the last half of the nineteenth century. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Ezekiel attended the Virginia Military Institute in the 1860s and fought for the Confederacy with the corps of cadets in the Battle of New Market near Richmond in May of 1864. After the war, Ezekiel became interested in anatomy and began modeling portrait busts. He studied in Cincinnati with other burgeoning sculptors, including J. Insco Williams and Thomas D. Jones, after which he moved to Berlin, Germany, and studied at the Royal Academy of Art. He moved to Rome in 1874, where he kept a studio for the rest of his life. During his lifetime, Ezekiel was one of the "most acclaimed artists on either side of the Atlantic," and was knighted by three different European monarchs.

Ezekiel, a lifetime supporter of the Confederate cause, stated in his autobiography that although he did not mind "drinking a toast to the late president," he had not "quite recovered from the shock of Southern subjugation and that he had not fought for slavery but for states' rights and free trade." His 1880 bust of Abraham Lincoln is one of a number of copies that were cast in a series, possibly to raise funds for Civil War veterans. It is said to have been modeled on an actual plaster cast made from the president's face, as well as several of Ezekiel's life drawings of Lincoln.

The bust was originally presented to the state of Kentucky in May of 1910 by Isaac and Bernhard Bernheim, prominent philanthropists and co-owners of Bernheim Brothers distillery which had opened in Louisville in 1888. Abraham Lincoln was located in the State Capitol building until ownership of the bust was officially transferred to the Louisville Free Public Library at the request of the Bernheim brothers in 1914. The work is now on view at the Crescent Hill Branch on Frankfort Avenue. (KTF)