Vinnie Ream, eighteen-years-old, was the first woman and the youngest person, to receive a commission from the United States government to sculpt a statue. She won the commission over many talented male sculptors. But why?
As a young girl, Vinnie Ream learned to paint and draw from members of the Winnebago tribe, in Madison, Wisconsin where she lived. In 1861, her family moved to Washington, D.C. To help support her family during the Civil War, fourteen-year-old Vinnie worked as a clerk for the U.S. Post Office, the first woman to do so. Vinnie also volunteered in local hospitals helping wounded soldiers to write letters home.
Vinnie Ream
Through a congressman, Vinnie met sculptor Clark Mills, a renowned artist at the time. At his studio, she watched him work and felt that she too could sculpt. Vinnie worked with clay for a few hours and made a medallion of an Indian chief’s head. Impressed by Vinnie’s ability, Mills invited her to be his apprentice.
Soon, she sculpted busts of members of Congress who became her friends. They asked her to produce a marble bust. Vinnie chose President Abraham Lincoln as her subject. The president rejected the idea at first. But after learning that Vinnie was a westerner and was not well-off financially, he agreed. It is said that Vinnie worked on her bust of Lincoln in his office over a five month period.
Vinnie Ream’s Bust of Abraham Lincoln
After Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, Congress decided to pay tribute to him with a full-size statue to be placed in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. Impressed by the life-like appearance of her bust of Lincoln, Vinnie was awarded the $10,000 commission and was provided a studio in the basement of the Capitol. To make the correct measurements, she was given the clothing that Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated.
Unlike other sculptors, Vinnie opened her to studio to the public. Visitors watched tiny Vinnie stand on scaffolding to sculpt the tall clay model. Once it was completed, it was cast in plaster and shipped to Rome. Vinnie and her parents traveled there to select marble for the statue. She choose white Carrara marble the type that Michelangelo had used. The statue was then sculpted by Italian stonecutters and unveiled at the U.S. Capitol in January 1871. Vinnie was only twenty-three-years-old.
Vinnie Ream’s Statue of Abrahma Lincoln
“The one great, lasting, all-dominating impression that I have always carried of Lincoln has been that of unfathomable sorrow, and it was this that I tried to put into my statue.” — Vinnie Ream
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Six-year-old Elinor Smith persuaded her father to let her fly in a Farman pusher biplane near her home on Long Island, New York. “By the time the pilot touched the wheels gently to the earth, I knew my future in airplanes and flying was as inevitable as the freckles on my nose.”
Farman pusher biplane
Elinor took flying lessons at age 10. Sitting on a pillow with her feet resting on blocks tied to the controls, Elinor learned to fly and by age 12, “I could do everything but take off and land.” She soloed a plane at age 15 and became the youngest licensed pilot at 16. Her license was signed by Orville Wright.
Elinor received worldwide attention when she was challenged to fly under one of New York’s East River bridges. Elinor not only met the challenge in 1928 at age 17, she flew the Waco 10 plane under four bridges: the Queensboro, the Manhattan, the Williamsburg and the Brooklyn Bridge. Charles Lindbergh wished her good luck and said, “…keep your nose down in the turns.” Her stunt has never been repeated.
Elinor Smith
Voted “Best Female Pilot” in 1930 by her peers, Elinor set many speed, altitude and endurance records. In 1934, she became the first woman on a Wheaties cereal box. Nicknamed the “Flying Flapper,” Elinor retired from flying for awhile to marry and raise her children, but returned in 1956, flying jets. Her last flight was in 2001, at age 89 when she flew an experimental plane at Langley Air Force Base. Elinor Smith died on March 19, 2010 at age 98.
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A Book For Kids:
Soar, Elinor! By Tami Lewis Brown Illustrated by Francois Roca
Michelangelo’s David didn’t happen the way you might think. The marble wasn’t a lovely block recently cut from the quarry. And it wasn’t presented to Michelangelo to sculpt into a masterpiece.
Instead, the giant marble block had been worked on before by two sculptors. Both rejected it. They thought it was too imperfect a piece to sculpt into a stable statue. One or both had also damaged the piece. Even the great Leonardo Da Vinci refused to work on it.
For twenty-five years it lay untouched in the Opera del Duomo’s courtyard in Florence. In 1501, Michelangelo was asked to turn the marble into a statue of the biblical figure David. At 26 years old, he was already a master artist and sculptor.
Michelangelo Bounarroti
Michelangelo agreed, believing that he could sculpt David from the rough marble. He worked on the statue privately at his workshop hiding it from view. He chipped away for over two years, often with little sleep, focusing solely on his work. Michelangelo successfully transformed the enormous marble block into a work of art. It stands 17 feet tall.
Florence, Italy
In January 1504, he presented his statue to the board members of the Cathedral of Florence. They had commissioned the statue to be placed along the Cathedral’s roofline with other statues. But when they saw Michelangelo’s David they knew it belonged in a prominent place in Florence — one where everyone could see it. The Piazza deel Signoria, Florence’s seat of government was chosen as the site.
In May 1504, forty men worked for four days to move David the half mile from Michelangelo’s workshop to its new home. A witness wrote:
“It was midnight, May 14th, and the Giant was taken out of the workshop. They even had to tear down the archway, so huge he was. Forty men were pushing the large wooden cart where David stood protected by ropes, sliding it through town on trunks. The Giant eventually got to Signoria Square on June 8th 1504, where it was installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, replacing Donatello’s bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes”. — From the Galleria dell’ Accademia (AccademiaGalley) website at:https://accademia.org
The statue of David became a symbol of freedom for the people of Florence. It warned others that Florence would defend itself just as David had defended the Israelites.
David at the Accademia Gallery
In 1873, David was moved into the Galleria dell’ Accademia, or Accademia Gallery, to protect it from additional weathering and damage. It stands there today, a magnificent testament to the genius and skill of its sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarroti.
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The Little Prince tells the story of a pilot who crash lands his plane in the Sahara Desert. He is awakened his first night there by a little prince fallen to earth from an asteroid. The novella is one of the most popular and endearing books since its publication in 1943. The author, Antoine De Saint-Exupery, a pilot, helped pioneer airmail delivery. And like the pilot in The Little Prince, he crash landed his plane in the Sahara desert, an experience that inspired his writing of The Little Prince.
Antoine, born in Lyon, France in 1900, grew up during the beginning of manned flight. Although the airplane originated in America with the Wright Brothers, it’s popularity took off in France. Antoine was there to see it. When he was twelve, he spent his summer days at an airfield watching pilots fly the early planes. One day, a pilot offered him a ride. And from then on, he dreamed of flying.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Entering military service with the French Army in 1921, Antoine took private flying lessons, and asked to be reassigned as a pilot with the French Air Force. After service, his flying career took off. He heard about an airline that flew mail delivery. Antoine signed up.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery
He flew and delivered the mail in Spain and West Africa. He later lived at Cape Juby, Morocco, in the Sahara Desert, working as a manager at the airfield. Antoine was a talented and courageous pilot who helped search and rescue downed pilots. At Cape Juby, he negotiated pilots’ release from captors.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s Crashed Plane, Sahara Desert, 1935
Antoine De Saint-Exupery wrote about his flying adventures in his books including, Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars. He will always be remembered for his masterpiece, The Little Prince.
In The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine De Saint-Exupery, master storyteller and illustrator, Peter Sis tells Antoine’s story from his childhood of “sunny days” to the day he went missing while flying for the Free French Air Force in World War II. The Pilot and the Little Prince is an engaging picture book biography for children.
The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine De Saint-Exupery
by Peter Sis
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In 234 words, Patricia MacLachlan tells the story of how young Henri Matisse became the master painter of color and light and movement.
Growing up in gray northern France, near the border with Belgium, Henri’s mother Anna Heloise brightened his world withcolor. She painted porcelain plates with scenes of nature. The plates hung on the walls of their house along with vivid red rugs that also covered a dirt floor. And Henri watched the colors of his pigeon’s feathers shimmer — “iridescence” his mother told him.
In The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse, Patricia MacLachlan draws a child in by using the second person point of view and asking “ if you” questions, until the child knows, that if you had grown up in Henri Matisse’s world, then you would become a painter, too.
The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse
Back Cover Illustrated by Hadley Hooper
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse attended law school, passed the bar exam, and with his father’s help found a position as a law clerk — although he did not enjoy practicing law. But everything changed when Henri became ill with appendicitis. While recovering, his mother gave him paints and supplies. It was then that Henri knew he would spend the rest of his life as an artist.
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In Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell, author Tanya Lee Stone tells how Elizabeth Blackwell’s dream to become a doctor was finally realized. Elizabeth, the first American female to receive a medical degree was rejected by every medical school she applied to, until…
Elizabeth Blackwell
…the students at New York’s Geneva Medical College, thinking their teachers were only joking when they asked if a woman should be admitted, voted to let Elizabeth in. What a surprise when she showed up. Elizabeth outsmarted the entire class graduating with the highest grades in 1849.
Geneva Medical College
After graduation, Elizabeth was unable to find employment. It seemed that no one wanted to hire a female physician. Elizabeth sailed to Europe for additional training and returned to New York City where she opened her own medical practice.
Elizabeth also ran a free clinic teaching hygiene to poor women and children. With her sister Emily, the third American female to receive a medical degree, Elizabeth opened The New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Elizabeth later opened her own medical school at the Infirmary training woman as doctors.
Elizabeth Blackwell persevered and lived her dream, leading the way for American women physicians.
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell is a beautifully told picture book biography with engaging illustrations by Marjorie Priceman for children.
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Wilma Rudoph overcame polio as a child to become the fastest female sprinter in the world. She was the first woman to win three Olympic gold medals in a single Olympic Games.
Born premature at 4 and 1/2 pounds, Wilma contracted polio at age four. She wore a brace on her left leg and worked with a physical therapist. Through sheer determination, Wilma walked without the brace by age nine. By age eleven, she no longer needed an orthopedic shoe.
Wilma, one of twenty-two children, loved basketball. With two strong legs, she became a star player at her Tennessee high school. Tennessee State University track and field coach Ed Temple watched Wilma in action. He knew at once that she was a gifted athlete. He first invited her to participate in the Tennessee State summer track and field program. From then on she trained with him.
In 1956, at age sixteen, Wilma became the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team competing in the Summer Games in Melbourne, Australia. She won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 m relay.
Wilma raced again in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome. She won and set records in the 200 m dash and the 4 x 100 m relay and won the 100 m dash. Nicknamed “The Tornado,” at age twenty, Wilma became the “fastest woman in the world.” She was the first woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games — the first Olympic Games to be televised.
Coach Ed Temple and team, Rome, 1960
“I always had the worst starts in the history of sprinters because of my size [5’11”]. I was the tallest sprinter that ever came from the United States. In my first 35-45 yards, I was never in the race so I was always happy they didn’t have 35-45 yard races. The farther I ran, the faster I became. I could always accelerate at the end and that was the key to the success of Wilma Rudolph, never the start.”
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Jacques Cousteau, a man of many talents, was a scientist, inventor, naturalist, explorer, writer, and filmmaker. He had a profound sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. An expert on sea life, he championed its preservation.
When Jacques was a child in France, he loved movies. He saved his allowance and bought a movie camera. With it, he filmed his own movies. They starred his friends, family, and even himself. Later, Jacques served in the French Navy. With his camera along, he traveled the world filming everything he saw.
In 1936, a friend gave Jacques a pair of swimgoggles. Jacques swam underwater with them. For the first time he saw brilliantly colored fish and fascinating underwater plants and animals. But he could only stay underwater for a brief time. He wanted the ability to breathe and explore freely.
Jacques worked with an engineer and in 1943, he invented Scuba — Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Now he could breathe underwater like a fish. With his camera protected by a waterproof case he filmed the underwater world.
Jacques converted a former Navy mine-sweeper into an ocean going laboratory. He named his ship Calypso. Jacques traveled the world exploring and filming underwater. He captured sea life in over 115 films and in 50 books. He shared his adventures with people everywhere.
Brave Ruby Bridges inspired people across the nation to search their hearts for what is right. The March on Washington was almost three years away and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, almost four years from passing. When…
Ruby Bridges, six years old, was chosen to integrate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Alone. On November 14, 1960, escorted by federal marshals, Ruby passed through an angry crowd yelling insults at her and entered the school. Immediately, furious parents stormed in and removed their children. Only one teacher, Barbara Henry, agreed to teach first grader Ruby.
In the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, “separate but equal” schools were deemed unconstitutional. Yet, schools in New Orleans, Louisiana, and throughout the southern United States did not accept the decision.
In 1960, a federal judge ordered that two schools in New Orleans be integrated. Ruby and five other girls were chosen based on a test they had taken. The parents of four of the six decided that their child would attend an all-white school. But only Ruby would go to school by herself.
The Problem We All Live With
By Norman Rockwell
Her father had been reluctant to send her, but her mother believed that Ruby should go. On the morning of the first day, Ruby and her mother were driven the five blocks from their home to the school. Before leaving the marshal’s car, her mother told her: “Ruby Nell, don’t be afraid. There might be some people upset outside, but I’ll be with you.” Her mother continued to encourage her despite the many hardships endured by the family through their decision to send Ruby to the all-white school.
Every day, during the school year, Ruby entered William Frantz Elementary the same way. But once inside, she spent the day happy with Barbara Henry, her teacher. They read together, played games, enjoyed music, and Ruby learned while the other students in the first grade stayed home. Federal Marshal Charles Banks said later that Ruby never cried. “She just marched along like a little soldier.”
Barbara Henry and Ruby Bridges in 1998
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Young Carl Sagan looked up at the night sky and wondered, “What are stars?” A question he seemed to ask over and over.
His mother took him to the library for the answer. At first, the librarian misunderstood Carl and gave him a book about the stars in Hollywood. But when he finally had the right book in his hands, it was magic. Carl learned that our Sun is a star. And all stars are suns, but they are so far away that they look like little points of light.
Carl searched the night sky for the planets in our solar system. He wished that he could walk on the surface of Mars, like his hero, John Carter, in the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. And Carl wondered: did life exist outside our solar system? In our galaxy? In other galaxies?
Mars — The Red Planet
When Carl was four years old, his parents took him to the 1939 New York World’s Fair, not far from his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn home. There Carl saw wonders of the future: a mechanical man, a moving map, and even an early television. The possibilities for science and technology seemed endless to him.
The interior of an early television at the 1939 World’s Fair
When Carl grew up, he never stopped asking questions about space and its mysteries. He became a scientist with a PhD. in astronomy and astrophysics. He participated in the Voyager program that sent two unmanned spacecrafts on a journey to distant parts of our solar system. Voyager I and Voyager II sent back pictures and information to Earth that helped us learn more about the planets in our solar system.
Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan taught us about space with his many books and his PBS television series, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. He told us that, “The total number of stars in the Universe is larger than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth.” This vastness inspired Carl’s curiosity as a child about planets and stars and galaxies that he later shared with all of us.
A wonderful book for children: Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and theMysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson tells the story of Carl Sagan full of curiosity and wonder who reached for the stars.
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