Vinnie Ream: The Story of the Girl Who Sculptured Lincoln

by Gordon Langley Hall

Life story of Vinnie Ream Hoxie, who at nineteen began her sculpture of the statue of Abraham Lincoln which now stands in the Rotunda of the Capital in Washington, D.C.

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Dan Ream · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been on our family’s bookshelves since the 1960s, though I’m unclear whether I am related to Vinnie Ream. As her father came from central Pennsylvania, it seems likely that we probably are distantly related. This biography, which the jacket claims is written for teenagers, is a lively telling of the life story of the 17 year old girl who dared to ask Abraham Lincoln if she could sit with him in his office to do a sculpture of him in late 1864 and he agreed. The success of that work led to her being hired to do Lincoln’s statue in the US Capital building and later the statue of Admiral Farragut that stands still today in Farragut Square near the White House in Washington. This success allowed her to buy her own home on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington while only in her twenties . Vinnie was reportedly beautiful in appearance and had many suitors before marrying at the age of 31 in 1878. Her interactions with both famous political leaders of her day and with well-known feminists are interesting reading, as is her childhood in Wisconsin and teenage relationships with American Indian men In Arkansas. Interesting life!