Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object |
Statue |
Title |
The American Spirit |
Artist/Creator |
Hunt, Clyde du Vernet |
Year Range from |
1938 |
Year Range to |
1940 |
Description |
Bronze statue "The American Spirit" (a.k.a. "The Lincoln Trilogy") by Clyde du Vernet Hunt (1861-1941). Fully clothed Abraham Lincoln wearing long cape and top hat, nude boy, and nude woman. Woman kneeling in front of Lincoln on right, cloth draped across her lap. Boy standing tall with hands clenched at sides. Lincoln has one hand on head of woman, other on head of boy. Both looking up toward Lincoln. |
Information |
While nudity in art is common, many viewers find the combination of naked and clothed figures in this sculpture strange. The Lincoln Trilogy illustrates how changes in society can alter our responses to art. In 1928, Vermont artist Clyde du Vernet Hunt was invited to participate in the Paris Salon. Hunt submitted a grouping of three sculptures he had previously created as separate pieces: Lincoln, Nirvana (the female figure), and Fils de France (the boy). Nirvana and Fils de France represent concepts. Their nudity may imply purity or innocence and reflects a tradition of using the idealized human form to express abstract qualities. Lincoln is an artistic rendering of an actual person. It would not have been appropriate to present him nude. Hunt’s intention for the Lincoln Trilogy was noble – he saw the new sculpture as symbolizing the ideals of Faith (Nirvana), Hope (Fils de France) and Charity (Lincoln). Nevertheless, the arrangement created an imbalanced power dynamic that reflects the patriarchal society in which it was created. In the nationalistic atmosphere of the 1940s, the sculpture was reinterpreted and given the name "The American Spirit" with the figure of the boy re-envisioned as Young America. How might current movements in society affect response to the Lincoln Trilogy today? There is also more information here: https://benningtonmuseum.org/library/scholarly/the-lincoln-trilogy.pdf |
Related People |
Hunt, Clyde du Vernet Lincoln, Abraham |
Credit line |
Gift of Mrs. Maud Hunt Patterson and Mr. Leavitt J. Hunt, Esq. |
Catalog Number |
2004.43 |