U.S. Courthouse: Hansen Sculpture – Los Angeles CA

Description

This limestone sculpture, “Young Lincoln” (1941), by James Hansen depicts a young, shirtless, pensive Lincoln holding a book. It stands across the lobby from Garner’s sculpture of “Law.” The informational plaque describes the statue:

“The Fine Arts Section of the U.S. Department of the Treasury commissioned this 8′ sculpture Young Lincoln by James Hansen (1917-) in 1939 based on an open and anonymous competition available to all sculptors west of the Mississippi for the decoration of the Los Angeles Post Office and Courthouse lobby. ‘Young Lincoln’ was exhibited in the Works Progress Administration Building of the 1939 New York World’s Fair and was installed in its present location in 1941. It was Hansen’s first large-scale sculpture, and the artist used himself as the model for the gangly figure of Lincoln. Hansen developed his own interpretation of Lincoln, portraying him as a young man standing barefoot and shirtless—a man of deep sentiment and understanding.”