In spring 1860 Chicago sculptor Leonard W. Volk learned that Abraham Lincoln was trying a prolonged court case in that city and invited the prominent lawyer and politician to sit for him. The two had met earlier, in 1858, during the heated Lincoln-Douglas senatorial debates. Volk was then working on a statue of Douglas and asked to portray his opponent as well. Lincoln agreed but was too busy to fulfill Volk’s request. In 1860, with Lincoln emerging as a Republican presidential prospect, Volk once again broached the topic.

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