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The Abraham Lincoln Monument was created by one of Wyoming’s most prominent 20th century sculptors, Robert Isaiah Russin. From his arrival in Wyoming in 1947 until his death in 2008, Robert Russin had a profound impact on the advancement of sculpture as an art form in the state. Russin stood apart from most of his contemporaries, generally avoiding stereotypical Western themes and focusing on public art for the appreciation and contemplation of the masses. As a professor at the University of Wyoming, Russin taught and trained hundreds of students, many of whom went on to become successful artists themselves. Due to the high-profile nature of his work and his role as a professor, Russin was perhaps the most well-known Wyoming sculptor of the 20th century.

The Abraham Lincoln Monument is Russin’s most visible and best-known work and was among the artist’s largest and most personally meaningful projects. Completed in 1959, Russin designed the monumental bronze sculpture and granite base to grace Sherman’s Summit, the highest point on the transcontinental Lincoln Highway. It was Russin’s hope and intention that the sculpture would inspire travelers to contemplate the ideals and life of the nation’s 16th president. Though moved in 1968 when I-80 redirected traffic away from the former Lincoln Highway alignment, Russin initiated and oversaw the monument’s relocation to a similar vantage point, on the summit at the highest point of I-80, an elevation of 8,686 feet.

Viewed by thousands of motorists each day while traveling through Wyoming along I-80, the monument is significant under Criterion C at the state level of significance, as one of the Wyoming’s most high profile works of public art. It is also significant under Criterion C as the work of a master, Robert I. Russin. The period of significance is 1959, the year that the sculpture was completed. The monument meets Criteria Consideration B for moved properties and F for commemorative properties.