https://mallhistory.org/files/original/0cde0dfa3391ad1d47be3fd720e2800c.jpg 3aaf23bc39ca7df141fd0181e2c0dc07 People An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. First Name for nav purposes Daniel Last Name for nav purposes French Birth Date 4/20/1850 Birthplace Exeter, New Hampshire Death Date 10/7/1931 Occupation Artist Biographical Text Daniel Chester French was born in Essex, New Hampshire. French’s father, Henry Flagg French, was a lawyer, judge, and federal official. In 1867, when French was 17, the family moved to Concord, Massachusetts, where they were neighbors with influential artists and authors, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott. Although he had little formal training as a young man, French was able to study with a number of accomplished artists, both in the United States and in Europe. <br /><br />French’s first major commission was a statue for the city of Concord to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The statue, titled 'Minute Man,' was well received, and became so famous that it was featured on war bonds during World War I. After living for two years in Italy, French moved to Washington, DC in 1876 and set up a studio near the Capitol. In 1890, he returned to Europe again to study with <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/146">Augustus Saint-Gaudens</a> in Paris. On his return, he and his wife, Mary Adams French, moved to New York City, where he lived for the rest of his life. <br /><br />In 1914, French was selected by the Lincoln Memorial Committee to create the sculpture of Lincoln for a memorial on the National Mall. French resigned as chairman of the Fine Arts Commission, which would be involved in reviewing any design choices for the monument, in order to accept the commission.<br /><br />Mary and Daniel French purchased a summer house in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1896. Daniel died there in 1931 at the age of 81. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Daniel Chester French Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004671901/">View original.</a> Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1890-1919 1920-1949 Description An account of the resource French was a sculptor whose best-known work in Washington, DC, is the statue of President Abraham Lincoln inside the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial.</a> He also sculpted the statue of Victory which tops the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/129">First Division Monument </a>in President’s Park. From 1910-1915, French served as one of the first members of the US Commission for Fine Arts, which reviews new construction in Washington for design and aesthetics. This commission carried on the work of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/179">Senate Park Commission</a> who designed the Mall. One of French’s good friends and mentor, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/146">Augustus Saint-Gaudens,</a> was a member of that Commission. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Daniel Chester French arts & culture building the mall design & monuments