Daniel Chester French came into contact with the architect Charles Follen McKim (of McKim, Mead, and White) during the Columbian Exposition in 1893. McKim had been hired to design the Boston Public Library and French was accepted to design six bronze doors for the building. From 1894-1902, French completed the doors with images of Truth, Romance, Knowledge, Wisdom, Music, and Poetry. His studio assistant, Evelyn Beatrice Longman, completed the lettering for the doors.

Genius of Creation was created for the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915 in San Francisco. The final sculpture was made of plaster and larger than life-size. The artwork made for expositions were meant to be temporary and the final sculpture did not survive. One of the working models for this sculpture can be found in the Studio.

The Lincoln Memorial stemmed from the plan to expand and develop the landscape of Washington, D.C. The Lincoln Memorial Commission was established for the project and they decided on Henry Bacon as the architect for the monument. All of Bacon's preliminary sketches incorporated a statue of Lincoln into the design. Bacon wanted to collaborate with French and the Commission later approved. The 6 foot final plaster model is on display in the Studio but is currently on loan to the National Gallery of Art until February 2010. To learn more about the Lincoln Memorial commission please refer to the Barn Gallery Virtual Exhibit.