The East and the West – The President and the Empress

Sculpture contrasts historical contemporaries United States President Abraham Lincoln and Chinese Empress Cixi. While they never met, their lives embody their eras. Lincoln freed the American slaves while Cixi ruthlessly curtailed liberty in China. The polite poses belie the contradictory and turbulent histories both represent.

This sculpture is part of the International Sculpture Garden at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.