What Is Draped on the Chair of the Lincoln Memorial Statue?

The colossal seated statue of Abraham Lincoln (by Daniel Chester French, 1920) in the Lincoln Memorial has an American flag draped over the back of the chair—specifically, a 36-star Union flag representing the states at the time of Lincoln’s death (1865).

The flag is a permanent sculpted element (Georgia marble), not textile. It symbolizes the Union he preserved. The chair’s fasces (bundled rods) on the arms represent federal authority; the open hands signify reconciliation.