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SUMMARY Vinnie ReamThe article Vinnie Ream, from the August 2000 issue of Smithsonian Magazine, tells the story of a muliebrity in the 1800s who was chosen to sculpt statues of prominent Americans, including Abraham Lincoln, despite having teeny experience. The article gives both(prenominal) an overview of the life of Vinnie Ream and an account of the political battles that arose from her counsels.The article opens by talking about how the government had decided to commemorate Civil warfare hero David Farragut with a statue. While many people expected telling to choose well-known sculptor Horatio Stone for the exert, they instead picked a 26-year older woman who had only done one large statue in her life. This outcome is used to illustrate how Vinnie Ream caused a great deal of controversy, with a backbreaking split between supporters and detractors. There is a brief recounting of her childhood leading up to her interest in sculpting, influenced by an artist named Clark Mi lls, who advance and taught Ream. She was then given permission by Abraham Lincoln to do a small statue of him. After he was assassinated, congress decided to pay $10,000 to delegating a larger statue of the president. Ream wrote letters and made friends with members of congress in an causal agent to secure the commission.This effort led to a ferocious debate both in congress and among the general public. Many were swayed by the girls charms and enthusiasm, while others saw her as lacking both experience and talent, claiming that she was beingness considered only on the basis of her personality. She was eventually chosen for the work, and the statue she made met with the comparable mixed response.Having made friends in high places, she later sought the commission for the Farragut statue. With the help of people like William Tecumseh Sherman, she was able to get this prestigious work as well, though many were bothered by the apparent politicking involved.