Leonard Wells Volk
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Leonard Wells Volk (1828-1895) was an American sculptor best known for making life masks of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in 1860. Born in Wellstown, New York, he studied in Italy and settled in Chicago, where he became the first professional sculptor in the city.
Volk's Lincoln life mask, cast just before the 1860 Republican nomination, is one of only two life masks of Lincoln and provides the most accurate record of Lincoln's face before the presidency.
Sculptures by Leonard Wells Volk
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About Leonard Wells Volk
Volk created the 1860 life mask of Abraham Lincoln, one of only two made during Lincoln's lifetime. It provides the most accurate record of Lincoln's pre-presidential appearance.
The Lincoln life mask casts are at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Chicago History Museum, and other institutions.
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