Carved in the Bronx by Italian immigrant artisans, the mammoth Lincoln statue that we revere today was shipped to Washington, D.C. and assembled inside the Lincoln Memorial in 1920. Chiseled from Georgia marble by the renowned Piccirilli Brothers and sculpted by Daniel Chester French, the statue is a testament to American ideals and Italian craftsmanship. The brothers were also responsible for many other carvings in the nation's capital.
In 1888 Giuseppe Piccirilli (1844-1910), a well-known stone carver, brought his family to New York from Massa, Italy. The entire family, father and six sons – Attilio, Feirrucio, Furio, Getulio (Giulio), Masaniello, and Orazio – were trained as marble cutters and carvers. They lived in a brownstone on 142nd Street in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx and set up a stone-carving atelier next to their home that would eventually occupy an entire city block.
In addition to carving the lions for The New York Public Library, the Piccirilli Brothers carved the six allegorical figures representing History, Romance, Religion, Poetry, Drama, and Philosophy that adorn the Library’s Fifth Avenue facade.
A selection of their other commissions in New York includes: The Four Continents by Daniel Chester French and 12 allegorical statues on the cornice of the U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green; the New York Stock Exchange pediment by J.Q.A. Ward; 30 large allegorical figures for the cornice of the Brooklyn Museum; the Maine Monument in Central Park and the Firemen’s Monument in Riverside Park, both sculpted by Attilio; and an innovative glass relief at Rockefeller Center, also by Attilio.
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