Lincoln statue immortalized on coin
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If you're in the U.S. and about to drop some loose change into the candy machine, take a close look at the coins in your hand.
Got one of the newly-minted Illinois State commemorative quarters? If so, examine the image of the young, clean-shorn Abraham Lincoln on the coin's tail side — there's a Church link. Honest Abe's metallic likeness is based on a well-known sculpture by LDS artist and educator Avard Fairbanks titled, "The Resolute Lincoln."
The coin depicts Brother Fairbank's Lincoln within the outline of the state. To the left of Lincoln is a farm scene above the words "Land of Lincoln." To his right is an image of the Chicago skyline with "21st State/Century" inscribed below. Encircling the design are 21 stars.
The Illinois quarter's design was selected by a 14-member committee that reviewed thousands of ideas submitted by Prairie State residents, according to the U.S. Mint. The committee then selected a few design ideas and forwarded them to the mint for a final decision. The coin was released earlier this year as part of the mint's ongoing 50 State Quarter Program that has become popular with collectors of all ages.
Brother Fairbanks died in 1987 at the age of 99. His family says they did not lobby to have their relative's artwork included on the Illinois quarter. Still, they were thrilled to learn his work would be immortalized on U.S. currency. The late artist's son, David Fairbanks, remembers an excited phone call from one of his own children recently.
"My son told me, 'I just got an [Illinois] quarter — it's got Grandfather's Lincoln on it!"
"The Resolute Lincoln" was sculpted to capture the pivotal transition Abraham Lincoln made from frontiersman to lawyer, according to David Fairbanks. The young Lincoln — who would go on to become one of the United States' most revered presidents — is depicted setting down an axe with his left hand while holding tight to a law book with his right. The heroic statue today stands in New Salem, Ill., where Lincoln once lived. There it serves "as a symbol — an icon of the state of Illinois," said David Fairbanks.
Avard Fairbanks was a lifelong admirer of the 16th U.S. president. He collected an extensive library on Lincoln and sculpted numerous busts and life-sized statues of the American hero. David Fairbanks said his father possessed the talent and savvy to inject life into his work.
"He could put into clay the greatness of the character."
The Illinois quarter obviously will increase the visibility of Avard Fairbanks' work, but the artist's sculptures have long been familiar, especially among Church members. His best-known LDS-themed work includes a sculpture depicting the restoration of the priesthood on Temple Square, several friezes encircling the Laie Hawaii Temple and his "Tragedy of Winter Quarters," a haunting burial scene capturing the severe hardship of the Mormon pioneers.
"It is not a new thing for [Avard Fairbanks] to be noticed," said Robert Olpin, dean of the University of Utah Fine Arts College that was founded by Brother Fairbanks in 1947.
"I have my own fond memories of him," Dr. Olpin said. "He was a darling teacher."
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
