Bennington, Vermont: Lincoln with Dumb Hat and Nude Boy

There are many contenders for the title of Least-Flattering Lincoln Statue, but this might be the winner. It features a green-with-age Abe with his stovepipe hat pulled down over his eyebrows, standing rigid as a robot. In front of him kneels a topless woman (Faith) and stands a nude boy (Hope) with Abe's bony hand grasping the kid's head like a cantaloupe. Vermont sculptor Clyde DuVernet Hunt, who came from a well-connected family, displayed this at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Bennington Museum Lincoln Statue

In the entry courtyard of the Bennington Museum is a statue of a standing Abe Lincoln, a little nude boy, and a young girl. The topless girl is kneeling with her face looking at Abe's face and he's holding her head at - shall we say - his middle body. Abe is wearing only a trench coat that goes down to his knees, and one half of it has been pulled around to cover the girl. It appears that something naughty is going on. The statue is a legitimate piece of art and the museum tries (via signs) many times during your visit to explain, to kids mainly, that the statue is just fine for when it was made.

[Bob, 08/08/2012]