JOHAN SELMER-LARSEN (Massachusetts/Norway, 1876-1969), Portrait plaque of Abraham Lincoln

JOHAN SELMER-LARSENMassachusetts/Norway, 1876-1969Portrait plaque of Abraham Lincoln with inscription “Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it”, part of Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech in February 1860. Unsigned. Gorham Foundry mark.Bronze, 15″ x 12.75″. Framed 24″ x 19.5″. Notes:This work was the commemorative plaque for the 1909 Hyde Prize in Oratory at Amherst College. The prize was established in 1870 by Henry Hyde, a prominent Boston lawyer and long-time trustee of the college. It was discontinued in 1931, and now few people have heard of it.Oratory prizes were hugely important on college campuses in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries. This particular plaque quotes a passage for Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech, considered one of his most important orations. In it, he elaborated his views on slavery, particularly in regards to the western territories. Lincoln had not yet even won the Republican nomination at the time he gave the speech, but many historians credit the forceful and well-argued position he presented during it for his victory in the general election.A Norwegian immigrant, Johan Selmer-Larson was one of the top sculptors of his time. He worked extensively with Frederick Law Olmstead for more than 40 years, creating majestic sculptures and fountains for use in Olmstead’s landscape designs. He was also an instructor at the School of the Worcester Art Museum and the Architectural School at MIT. A longtime resident of Marblehead, he was a co-founder of the Marblehead Arts Association.