did-you-kno:

17-year-old Vinnie Ream got to meet with Abraham Lincoln every day for 5 months straight. Senators hired her to sculpt a bust of her choosing, and she picked Lincoln, who gave her his time each day. She was also hired to sculpt his memorial statue, despite a senator’s warning that her age and sex would cause her to fail. She was the first woman commissioned by the US government, and her work still stands in the Capitol Rotunda today. Source Source 2