Vinnie Ream An American Sculptor

This is the remarkable story of a fascinating, talented, nineteenth-century American woman who was able, despite a lack of formal training, to build a successful, if controversial, career as a sculptor. When she was only seventeen years old, she succeeded in prevailing upon her friends in Congress to convince President Lincoln to sit for her and, after his assassination, these friends managed to have a bill passed granting her a contract for the completion of a statue of the late president. Vinnie Ream was not a feminist, but her story is the story of a woman's remarkable achievement in a world controlled by men, who used money to influence Congress. Vinnie Ream did not have money, but she did have talent, intelligence, beauty and great charm, and she used these qualities in every way she could. She lived in exciting political times, and was involved with many famous men and events. She was in the midst of the controversy over Andrew Johnson's impeachment, and was accused of causing Senator Edmund Ross to cast the deciding vote for Johnson's acquittal. In this little-known slice of Americana, we learn about a woman who was ahead of her time in at least one respect: her tenacity in the pursuit of artistic achievement. It is a story which needs to be told.