Two Free Lincoln Exhibits

The Speed Art Museum in Louisville presents two shows celebrating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. These exhibitions explore the life of the nation’s 16th president in Beyond the Log Cabin: Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln and with Ed Hamilton’s Lincoln, running June 28 through September 6, 2009.

In Beyond the Log Cabin, the Commonwealth’s signature Lincoln bicentennial exhibition, the untold story of Lincoln’s lifelong engagement with Kentucky and Kentuckians is revealed. Through engaging imagery, art, historical objects, portraits, and Lincoln’s own words, this exhibition illustrates the relationships that shaped Lincoln’s life, helped to pave the way for his political rise, and, during the Civil War, kept Kentucky in the Union.

Ed Hamilton’s Lincoln will take you through the artist’s process in creating the Louisville Waterfront Park Lincoln Memorial that was dedicated on June 4. This memorial, created by Louisville sculptor Ed Hamilton, portrays a young, seated Abraham Lincoln reading a book. This exhibition features early clay studies, plaster models, drawings, and the 12-foot final model of the Lincoln monument, as well as Hamilton’s sketches for panels of bas-relief sculptures depicting scenes of slavery and Lincoln’s extraordinary life.

“I think Abraham was an important president, as well as a great human being. Having my state, and people who believed in me, to create this memorial for our city is quite the honor. It made me step back and look at the man differently, and the words that he put to paper were so important in his lifetime and continue to be relevant today,” commented Hamilton on the project.

Admission to both exhibitions is free thanks to the generous support of multiple donors.

The Speed Art Museum is located at 2035 South Third Street, Louisville. For general information, call (502) 634-2700 or go to www.speedmuseum.org.