On this day in 1866, Lavinia (“Vinnie”) Ream became the first female artist to receive a commission from the U.S. government. Her project? A full-body statue of the recently deceased Abraham Lincoln. The piece still stands in the Capitol Rotunda today. A child prodigy, Ream was only 18 at the time of the commission, making […]

On this day in 1866, Lavinia (“Vinnie”) Ream became the first female artist to receive a commission from the U.S. government. Her project? A full-body statue of the recently deceased Abraham Lincoln. The piece still stands in the Capitol Rotunda today. A child prodigy, Ream was only 18 at the time of the commission, making […]