Statue of Abraham Lincoln (Ashland, Oregon)



A 1915 marble statue of Abraham Lincoln by Antonio Frilli is installed in Ashland, Oregon's Lithia Park, in the United States. The statue was gifted to the city by Gwin S. Butler, who dedicated the artwork as a memorial to his stepfather, pioneer Jacob Thompson, in 1916.

Description
The statue is a standing figure of Lincoln with books stacked on his proper left foot. He wears an unbuttoned coat and holds a scroll in his proper right hand. The marble sculpture measures approximately 5 x 2 x 1 1/3 ft and rests on a granite base measuring approximately 4 ft, 4 in tall. One bronze plaque reads:

"IN MEMORY / OF / JACOB THOMPSON / PIONEER OF / 1847"

Another reads: "ABRAHAM LINCOLN / DONATED TO THE CITY OF ASHLAND IN 1915 BY / GWIN S. BUTLER / IN MEMORY OF HIS STEPFATHER / JACOB THOMPSON / ORIGINALLY SCULPTED IN FLORENCE, ITALY BY / A. FRILLI / EXTENSIVE RESORTATION (sic) IN 1990 BY / JEFFRY BERNARD."

History
The statue was created in 1915. It was originally installed near Butler-Perozzi Fountain and was later relocated to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and eventually Lithia Park. It has been vandalized several times, including in 1958 and the beheading of the statue in 1967. The artwork was surveyed as part of the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1993. It was beheaded once again in 2008 and removed from the park for repairs.