Letter From America

So sorry that this has turned into a bit of an unabridged essay, but hard not to when the subject matter is the new Spielberg film Lincoln, which focuses on the US President's key role in getting the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery through. As the film depicts, it was finally passed by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865. By pure happenstance, that would make it 148 years as of tomorrow (or today as I write this).

Me and MrsB had driven into Manchester tonight for our usual cheapskate Orange Wednesday of half-price cinema tickets, and this week had chosen to see Lincoln. I had got the urge first after getting a free copy (see a developing trend here?) of the Pulitzer Prize winning book Team of Rivals by Doris Learns Goodwin with the Telegraph a few weeks back. The film is based on that.

Before the cinema, I took MrsB to see the bigger-than-life statue of the great man in Lincoln Square, and to Blip him of course (well actually I also wanted to take MrsB to sample another old favourite, the wonderful Rising Sun pub, also on that square). As someone who works in public art, I was sad to see that poor old Abe' was not lit up at all at night, so had to improvise with this silhouette shot against some glazed building's lit interior. I didn't realise it at the time, but a key closing sequence in the film shows Lincoln walking away back-lit against a large window. Thinking about that afterwards, it seemed like another nice coincidence. The film was great by-the-way, and especially the portrayal of Lincoln by Daniel Day-Lewis. And this praise from someone who is not a usual fan of his.

But what shoddy public realm treatment of this great man's memory by Manchester City Council though. I think a letter to long-time Leader of the city council Sir Richard Leese is in order tomorrow. Especially with just 2 years to go before it will be the 150th anniversary of the amendment being passed.

Postscript: After some research back at home, I found out that this bronze was by US sculptor George Grey Barnard, and had actually first been set to stand outside the Houses of Parliament in 1914, as a tribute from the USA to Britain to mark 100 years of peace. It seems though that the sculptor's physical depiction of Lincoln had proved too controversial, and led to a more statesmanlike artwork being sent to London after the First World War. Barnard's own British offering was left homeless in the meantime, until Manchester saved the day, with it's real links to Lincoln and the Lancashire Cotton Famine triggered by the collapse of cotton trade into Britain during the American Civil War. Despite this, Lancashire traders had actually supported the abolition of slavery in the US, and Lincoln wrote to them to acknowledge this, and to offer his support. The Act passing the Abolition of Slavery in British Colonies though, had come well before in 1833.

It seems that Barnard's Lincoln original statue was the subject of controversy because of its rough-hewn features and slouching stance. Three castings of this statue were still made though: The first is in Cincinnati, Ohio (installed 1917); the second, this one in Manchester (1919); and the third in Louisville, Kentucky (1922).

London it seems, eventually installed a replica of 'Abraham Lincoln: The Man' (also called Standing Lincoln) based on the original bronze in Lincoln Park, Chicago by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

The controversy over the Barnard artwork has some amusing synergy with the modern US criticisms made of Day-Lewis's portrayal in the new Lincoln film, with his shuffling gait and high-pitched, wavering tone, being likened to the Mr Burns character from The Simpsons.

No one can dare demean even the visual picture of the totally unimpeachable Abraham Lincoln it seems