BLOOMINGTON - Historians think a conversation Abraham Lincoln had about his chances to become president could have happened just the way Twin City artist Andrew Jumonville envisions it.

The year was about 1858. Walking the streets of Bloomington, Lincoln peers off in the distance as he weighs the words of his two closest advisors.

Pantagraph publisher Jesse Fell and Judge David Davis of Bloomington walk on either side. Both are intensely animated, keeping eye contact with their taller friend as they urge him to run. Davis looks thinner, more fit, as he did in those days. Davis, whom Lincoln later named to the U.S. Supreme Court, gained his girth later in life.

The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of McLean County wants to raise $225,000 to have Jumonville's vision of the scene cast in bronze.

Plans call for the life-sized statue, titled "Convergence of Purpose," to be permanently placed in the park in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. Lincoln quotes will be etched in the sidewalks approaching the work from several directions. Target date for completion is some time next year.

"A significant figure" toward the fundraising goal has been raised privately, said Greg Koos, a member of the commission and director of the McLean County Museum of History. He'll disclose the amount when the commission kicks off its public fundraising campaign from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 11 at the McLean County Arts Center. Tickets are $50.

To date, primary donors include State Farm Insurance Cos., The Fell Foundation, The Merwin Foundation, Commerce Bank and Kemper Foundation, the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and descendants of David Davis. The Fell Foundation also has agreed to match new donations dollar for dollar up to $25,000.

Every member of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of McLean County also contributed.

The commission was set up a couple of years go with financing from the governments of Bloomington, Normal and McLean County to underscore Lincoln's connection to Bloomington, which Koos called Lincoln's "second city" behind Springfield.

Commission members decided on the concept of Lincoln and the two Bloomington men who were instrumental to his successful bid for the White House. Interested artists nationwide were asked to submit portfolios. Jumonville was among the top three contenders asked to submit mock-ups of their ideas.

His model clearly stood out from the others, said Koos and Marcia Young, director of the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site in Bloomington and also a member of the bicentennial commission.

"He (Jumonville) was bold enough to suggest these were human beings with emotions," Koos said.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do," Jumonvillle said. "When we talk about Lincoln, it's all about action. It's things done. It's on the go, in the moment. They wanted to illustrate the process of making a decision to run for president. It's in process, it's in movement."

The statue will be one of the very few works to feature Lincoln with other people, Koos said. Most statues, paintings and photos feature the 16th president alone.

Asked why Fell and Davis were chosen to appear with Lincoln, Young described a well-documented conversation Fell had with the future president.

As a newspaper publisher and a man active in politics, Fell knew publicity was critical. Fell urged Lincoln to write an autobiography and then made sure the pages were distributed on the east coast. Lincoln was not well known there, but Fell had strong eastern connections, including in Pennsylvania. Fell also had good contacts in the emerging Republican Party, Koos said.

Davis, whose mansion remains a top Lincoln-related tourist attraction in Illinois, was a longtime friend of Lincoln's from the days when both men rode the court circuit in Central Illinois. Lincoln was a lawyer, Davis was a judge.

"Davis was in many ways a mentor to Lincoln, a person who helped hone him, helped transform him from the back country laborer he was to one of the most successful attorneys working in the Midwest," Koos said.

Still, Young said Davis took some time to envision Lincoln as presidential material.

"But once he figured out Lincoln should run, once Davis grasped the idea, he was very enthusiastic," Young said. "Davis was a great organizer. ...He was probably one of the two most important organizers in Chicago (at the nominating convention) to get delegations to support Lincoln."

Through his wife, Sarah, Davis also had strong political connections with influential families on the east coast.

"Fell once was credited with Lincoln's election, but Fell said, 'No, it was David Davis,' " Young said.

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Kickoff

What: Kickoff gala for a fundraising campaign to raise $225,000 to build a life-sized bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, Jesse Fell and David Davis

Where: McLean County Arts Center, 601 N. East St., Bloomington

When: 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 11

Cost: $50 per ticket

Sponsor: Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of McLean County

More information: E-mail gregkoos@mchistory.org or call (309) 827-0428