Abraham Lincoln Statue
on the front entrance steps of the New-York Historical Society
overview
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT individuals.
The Abraham Lincoln Statue, on the steps in front of the New-York Historical Society, honors an LGBT individual.
Abraham Lincoln, undated. Source: Biography.com.
History
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project compiled a list of public parks and playgrounds named after gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals, several of which intentionally honor an LGBT individual. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT individuals. This list includes the Abraham Lincoln Statue, in Manhattan.
This monument in front of the New-York Historical Society celebrates President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), and also inadvertently honors his LGBT history. Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States (1861-1865), during which time he presided over the Civil War, succeeding in maintaining the union of the states and abolishing slavery. He is consistently listed as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents. Born in Kentucky, he was self-educated and became a lawyer and Illinois state legislator and Congressman, prior to running for President. Lincoln was martyred by assassination just after the end of the war.
Lincoln was married at age 33 to Mary Todd and fathered four sons. There has been much interest, speculation, and research about Lincoln’s sexuality, however, since at least 1926 by poet Carl Sandberg in his biography of the President. In particular, there has been much analysis of Lincoln’s relationship as a young man with Joshua Fry Speed, who he met in 1837 and with whom he shared a bedroom until 1841 in Springfield, Illinois. C.A. Tripp, a psychologist who worked with sexologist Alfred Kinsey in the 1950s and wrote the groundbreaking book The Homosexual Matrix (1975), among other works, began his academic research on Lincoln’s sexuality in the 1990s. In The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln (2005), Tripp concluded that Lincoln had relationships with other men throughout his lifetime. The Lincoln-Speed relationship has inspired a number of novels, plays, and art projects.
This bronze statue, on the steps in front of the Central Park West entrance of the New-York Historical Society, was created by StudioEIS, Brooklyn, in 2011. It is paired with a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, located at the West 77th Street entrance to the building.
Entry by Jay Shockley, project director (June 2023).
NOTE: Names above in bold indicate LGBT people.
Sources
“Abraham Lincoln,” Out History, bit.ly/3trpTLW.
C.A. Tripp, The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Basic Books, 2005).
Gore Vidal, “Was Lincoln Bisexual?,” Vanity Fair, January 3, 2005.
“Honest Abe,” Teaching History, bit.ly/39IgOXi.
Hrag Vartanian, “The Bed Where Lincoln Slept with Another Man,” Hyperallergic, February 21, 2014, bit.ly/3pLxbb7.
Lewis Gannett, “C. A. Tripp’s Journey to Lincoln,” The Gay and Lesbian Review, March 1, 2005, bit.ly/2EWQ7z3.
Mark Segal, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life in the Closet?,” Washington Blade, October 25, 2011, bit.ly/2Tom248.
“Creating the Humanity in Bronze Statues,” New-York Historical Society, March 14. 2012, bit.ly/3PYz7go.
“Statues of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass,” New-York Historical Society, 2023, bit.ly/3JWc7Lp.
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