WHY THIS PLACE? After sculptor Daniel Chester French died in 1931, his studio at Chesterwood—French’s summer home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, featured in the Winter 2026 issue of Preservation magazine—did not sit vacant. His daughter, artist Margaret French Cresson, is seen in this 1934 photo working on a plaster bust of her father in the very studio where he created Abraham Lincoln, his most famous sculpture.

“It shows Margaret continuing on, carrying on the legacy of her father,” says Dana Pilson, curatorial researcher and collections coordinator at Chesterwood, a National Trust Historic Site. “She had taken lessons from him. ... People’s faces fascinated her. She brought a special something to creating a portrait of her father.”

In 2025, Chesterwood staff installed the bust in the main residence’s study as part of an exhibition focused on the women artists and sculpture models in French’s orbit. While that exhibition has now concluded, Cresson’s piece will remain on display in the study for visitors to view.