The Council of War
John Rogers
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This sculptural group was a memorial to Abraham Lincoln and the recent war, and was marketed as such to a wide audience of upper-middle-class Americans. It represents the seated president receiving the map of a battle plan from General Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The sculptor John Rogers established his reputation for this type of narrative figure group by 1863 with a work titled Union Refugees, which was initially rendered in bronze. Rogers's method of patenting his designs and replicating them in plaster made him the first American to mass-produce sculpture for a popular market.
Caption
John Rogers (American, 1829–1904). The Council of War, 1868. Plaster, height: 23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Simons, by exchange, 54.206. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Council of War
Date
1868
Geography
Place made: New York, United States
Medium
Plaster
Classification
Dimensions
height: 23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm)
Inscriptions
Inscribed around front of base: "THE COUNCIL OF WAR"
Markings
Inscribed with maker's name.
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Simons, by exchange
Accession Number
54.206
Frequent Art Questions
Beside Lincoln, who else is pictured here?
Mr. Lincoln is pictured between the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton on the President's left (your right) and General Ulysses S. Grant on the opposite side, with the shorter beard.Also, the artist, John Rogers, was the first American to patent and mass-produce sculptures for the upper-middle-class market to display in their homes. He worked in clay and plaster, instead of more expensive materials like marble.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at