Paul Manship, Fortitude, 1955, bronze on marble and wood base, 14 3⁄8 x 12 1⁄2 x 5 7⁄8 in. (36.4 x 31.8 x 15.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1965.16.17
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Fortitude
- Artist
- Date
- 1955
- Location
- Dimensions
- 14 3⁄8 x 12 1⁄2 x 5 7⁄8 in. (36.4 x 31.8 x 15.0 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the artist
- Mediums Description
- bronze on marble and wood base
- Subjects
- Figure male — nude
- Study — sculpture model
- Animal — lion
- Allegory — quality — fortitude
- Object Number
- 1965.16.17
Artwork Description
In 1932, Paul Manship completed the statue Abraham Lincoln, The Hoosier Youth for the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The final statue, together with its base, is a massive twenty-two feet tall and shows a young Lincoln sitting on a tree stump with a dog at his side. Fortitude is one of four small relief medallions that adorn the base of the statue. Manship sculpted these images to represent the "major qualities which Lincoln possessed---Patriotism, Justice, Fortitude and Charity" (Manship, quoted in Harry Rand, Paul Manship, 1989). In this bronze image the muscular figure together with the lion symbolize great physical and mental strength.