The 6-foot-high plaster working model of the celebrated seated Lincoln statue by American sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850–1931), designed for the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, will be on view in honor of President Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. The plaster—used for the carving of the final 19-foot-high figure from 28 blocks of Georgia marble—is being lent to a museum for the first time by Chesterwood Estate and Museum, French's country home and studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a national and Massachusetts historic landmark.

The plaster sculpture will be joined by the wood model of the Lincoln Memorial that renowned American architect Henry Bacon (1866–1924) used to bolster his entry in the design competition for the memorial. It is the original scale model of the actual building, inspired by the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and executed on the National Mall in white marble between 1914 and 1922.

French, also known for such famous works as the Minute Man (1884) in Concord, Massachusetts, was Bacon's personal choice for a collaborator on the statue of Lincoln.

The works will be accompanied by life-size photo banners of the final Lincoln sculpture and a watercolor of the East Elevation of the Lincoln Memorial by Jules Guerin (who executed the murals in the Memorial), as well as informative, illustrated text panels.

Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Sponsors: The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Robert H. Smith.

The National Gallery of Art is grateful to Chesterwood, National Trust for Historic Preservation, for the loan of the Lincoln model, and to the General Services Administration for the loan of the architectural model.

Schedule: National Gallery of Art, February 12, 2009–February 12, 2010

Passes: Passes are not required for this exhibition.

The exhibition is on view in the National Gallery's West Building, Main Floor.