Sculptor John McClarey is a former Illinois high school history teacher with an international reputation as an artistic interpreter of Abraham Lincoln. He has won many prestigious awards for his work, including the Order of Lincoln in 2009. His Lincoln statuary is on display in such Illinois cities as Vandalia, Charleston, Decatur, Springfield, New Salem, Taylorville, Hillsboro, Peoria and Metamora.

The positioning and "body language" of the two statues is meant to convey a spirit of friendly debate in a bi-partisan context. The statuary suggests the need that existed then and now to work together in a friendly and civil manner in order to find lasting solutions to common problems. Both Abraham Lincoln and Anthony Thornton exhibited a great magnanimity of spirit during the debate. And the theme of rational political discourse is always timely.

Finally, the dramatic placement of the statuary in front of the Shelby County Courthouse visually links the statues to the surrounding natural environment while at the same time connecting the past of Abraham Lincoln and Anthony Thornton to our on-going present.

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Show me all markers in:  Shelbyville, IL  |  Shelby County  |  62565  |  Illinois  |  United States of America

Lincoln - Thornton Debate
Abraham Lincoln - Eighth Judicial District
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Freedom Square
Lincoln-Thornton Debate / Lincoln Circuit
First Commercial Pick-up Baler
Anthony Thornton
Traveling the Circuit
Strasburg Veterans Memorial
Lincoln and Divorce

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