In the small town of Concord, Massachusetts, stands one of the greatest icons of American art, dedicated one hundred years to the day after the Revolutionary War battle it commemorated. In 1872, the Monument Committee of Concord awarded the commission to the promising local sculptor Dan French. Although French had never executed a full-sized figure, he jumped at the opportunity. On April 19, 1875, a large crowd that included President Grant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Ralph Waldo Emerson gathered to view the unveiling of The Minute Man. A decade had elapsed since the Civil War, and the nation's mood was optimistic. When the flags draping the statue were pulled away, the crowd saw a farmer-soldier inspired by the art of antiquity, but imbued with the energy of a new county.

But the young sculptor was not present for the reception of his statue. Fresh from completing his very first--and very successful--commission, French did what other aspiring American artists did at the time: he went to Europe to study. While many of his peers chose Paris, French headed for Italy, traveling to Florence to stay with the family of another young sculptor, Preston Powers. From a corner in the studio of fellow Bostonian Thomas Ball, French drank in the wonders of Florence--Roman and Greek art as well as that of the Italian Renaissance.