Royal Cortissoz

Royal Cortissoz, 1920
Cortissoz wrote the epitaph carved above the Abraham Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial

Royal Cortissoz (/kɔːrˈtiːzəs/;[1] February 10, 1869 – October 17, 1948) was an American art historian and, from 1891 until his death, the art critic for the New York Herald Tribune. During his tenure at the newspaper, he consistently championed traditionalism and decried modernism.[2] Of the latter, he once wrote, "It will someday prove a kind of Victorian 'dud', with a difference, obviously, but a 'dud' just the same."[3]

Cortissoz wrote the inscription engraved above the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.: "In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever."[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Milestones". Time. October 25, 1948. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2008.(subscription required)
  3. ^ "Sterile Modernism". Time. March 10, 1930. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2008.(subscription required)
  4. ^ "Lincoln Memorial Builders". National Park Service. Retrieved March 9, 2017.