Abraham Lincoln's Wax Statue Melts In Washington DC Heat

A six-foot-tall wax statue of former US President Abraham Lincoln melted during a recent heatwave in Washington, D.C. The statue, created by Richmond artist Sandy Williams IV, was installed in February at the historic site of Camp Barker, now the grounds of Garrison Elementary School in Northwest Washington.

The installation, part of Williams' The Wax Monument Series, serves as both a sculpture and a candle. The statue was placed under large trees, which were expected to provide shade during the summer months. However, the intense heat proved too much for the wax structure.

This isn’t the first time the statue has faced melting issues. An earlier version, which had over 100 wicks, melted prematurely before its dedication ceremony last September. The current version, with fewer and strategically placed wicks, includes a plaque advising visitors to extinguish the wick within 1-2 minutes.

The installation aims to highlight the significance of the Civil War era and its aftermath. The site, Camp Barker, was a Civil War-era refugee camp that sheltered formerly enslaved and freed African Americans. Now, it is the location of Garrison Elementary School.

Artist Sandy Williams IV explained the concept behind the melting statues. "Traditionally, monuments are made to sit and collect a patina, as they withstand change, in an attempt to eternalize a particular reality," Williams said in an interview with Eastcityart. "I am interested in visualising change and building monuments able to keep a living record of activity. By melting these wax versions of famous monuments, people are given agency over these forms that are normally (legally) untouchable."

The wax Lincoln statue was commissioned by the non-profit CulturalDC and is the third installment of Williams' 40 ACRES Archive: The Wax Monument series, which features wax replicas of prominent public monuments and cultural symbols.

Over the weekend, the DC metro area experienced a heat alert, with high temperatures expected to continue throughout the week.