Since then, Lincoln stood sentinel at the busy auction house like an aging shelter dog watching cute puppies scamper away with new owners. Honest Abe finally got a chance to charm Wednesday as item No. 309 - the last lot for sale.
For hours leading up to the Lincoln, art lovers fought over prints and paintings with paddles and proxies for those bidding from home and the Internet. A moody oil from the now-defunct Lehman Bros. corporate collection inspired a bona fide biding war before selling for $10,000, nearly 10 times the estimate.
"And now the largest piece of the sale," hyped auctioneer David Weiss, "an enormous subject you can't live without."
Matthew E. Schwartz had waited all afternoon to strike. He was prepared to pay $25,000, knowing its provenance: The sculptor is a contemporary Chinese superstar whose works sells for $700,000.
The bidding began at $500 and ended in seconds with Schwartz scoring the deal of a lifetime for just $550. Where are the reality TV cameras when you need them?
International intrigue
Schwartz was puzzled when I asked to talk, so I filled him in on the international intrigue.
In July 2009, as Philadelphia celebrated Lincoln's 200th birthday, the city received an unexpected gift from the Chinese government and a cultural foundation: The Day Before the Decisive Battle, by Chinese artist Yuan Xikun.
The sculpture is Lincoln not as we know him but as imagined by a faraway fan - muscular, conquering, admiring the nation he united. But municipal officials and museums coldly rebuffed the overture. No one in Philly wanted this Lincoln.
In the fall, after a brief display in City Hall and humiliating storage in a vacant shop in Chinatown, Lincoln arrived at Freeman's. Proceeds from his sale will be donated to National History Day Philly.
Going, going, gone
Unfamiliar with Yuan's work, the auction house valued Lincoln at less than $1,500.
