Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-09
Continued From Third Pase.)

"a door with medallion in its upper
panel, whereas that wall now stands
blank. Old members of the White
House stan, however, explained that
Der how many-this door was branded
useless; they had removed it and
plastered over the opening.
If Carpenter reproduced the room
with such Photographic accuracy he
must have been equally conscientious
with the furniture. Lincoln sits in an
armchair. The cabinet group surrounds
a rather plain Victorian pattern table.
In the right foreground is an empty
side chair with curved legs Stanton.
at the extreme left of the group sits
across chair Of exactly the same pat
tern, his arm resting on the back. Two
others, less clearly visible, are evidently
search of the White House to see
whether, amid all its changes and vicis-
situdes, any Of these furnishings were
left.
Attic Yields Side Chair.
No one has ever found Lincoln's arm
chair. nor any which resembles it. But
the White Houses attic yielded the first
prize: Rickety, dilapidated, dented, its
upholstery in a shocking condition
there was unquestionably one of the
side chairs. The service and Office
quarters yielded two others and, finally
fourth appeared from the State, War
and Navy Building, with positively no
explanation Tor its removal across the
alley This set of chairs is so distinctive
that there is no mistaking them They
are OF decadent empire grated onto
memory of the Sheraton pattern
curved legs, upholstered seats, banisters
up the back which as they meet the
sat at the top are decorated with
trefoil perforation.
This. if you believe Carpenters
painted testimony, must have been the
set of chairs which the cabinet occu-
pied at meetings all through the Civil
War. Since there were seven members
OF the cabinet, and sets of chairs
usually go by even numbers. there must
have been at least eight in the original
set. More may come to light some
day. But these four. repaired. re-
finished and reupholstered stand
now in the old cabinet room. It
is just possible that the armchair may
vet appear from some unexpected quar-
ter. Perhaps it belonged to Lincoln,
not to the White House, and after the
assassination Mrs Lincoln gave away
her belongings very freely as souvenirs.
Then, again, during the later nine
teenth century when there was curious
iy little interest in relics of our historic
past, successive occupants of the White
House had way of casting out house
hold goods which did not suit their
fancy. These, as provided by law, went
TO the block in public auction.
Table Introduces Puzzle.
The table introduces a puzzle One
OF rather ornate design still in the
White House always has been shown
as that on which the Emancipation
Proclamation was signed. A table in
the Hartford, Conn, Museum makes a
similar claim. The White House table
is certainly not the model for the one
IN the picture. But the Hartford table,
according to those who have seen it
have not-bears a strong resemblance.
Perhaps both have the historic claim
Carpenters picture portrays the mo-
ment IN September, 1862. when Lincoln
read the proclamation to his amazed
cabinet. 1t was put aside then and
not signed and promulgated until jan
uary !, 1868. The cabinet table may |
have changed in the meantime. If so, |
Carpenter, who began his work in 1864 |
probably put back the old one to make |
his picture accurate to the last detail.
This painting made good deal of |
small history and was the occasion for |
recording much great history. Carpen-
ter himself left profuse records-includ- |
ing a published book-of his methods |
and reasons; he stresses nothing so
carefully as his pains to see that his |
masterpiece should be correct in every |
small detail. The story is worth telling |
in condensed form.
Francis Bicknell Carpenter of New /
York was a painstaking and graphic /
young painter who, little. before the
Civil War, came to fame and prosperity |
through portrait of former President |
Fillmore. Apparently he had the art.
so serviceable to a portrait painters
worldly interests, of selling himself to |
the great. By the time the war opened |
he had much acquaintance in Wash |
Jngton. An ardent Northern sympa- |
thiZer and abolitionist he went into a |
kind OF ecstasy over the Emancipation |
Proclamation. The central event of |
the nineteenth century," he called it. |
While in this state he became obSessed |
by desire to paint the episode, and |
enc day came, like fash out of the
sky. the idea for composition. Hav-
ing no other drawing materials at
hand, he sketched this out in pencil
get the commission, calling to his aid
his friends, Schuyler Colfax and Owen
Lovejoy. Lovejoy was in his last ILL
ness. Nevertheless, he summoned the
young painter to Washington and, sit
ting up in bed, scrawled the note which
opened the White House door.
Opened Studio in White House.
young man, do you think you can
make me handsome?" asked Lincoln
when they met. But Carpenter found
a welcome beyond his dreams. In a day
or so he had studio quarters in the
White House, where he stayed for six
months-from February to the end OF
July, 1864. This introduces a mild CO.
incidence. He appears to have been
witness of the fire in the White House
stables on February 10. In that disaster
persisted two ponies, one left by Willie
Lincoln, who had died but few months
before, and the other belonging to the
still living Tad. Carpenter has recorded
Tads uncomfortable grief over this dis
sster. need no record that on Christ
mas night, 1929, the next fire in the
White House occurred.
At their first interview Carpenter
talked over his ideas with Lincoln, and
the President spilled some vital con-
tributions to history. He told how in
the Summer of 1862, he had astounded
his cabinet with the original draft of the
Emancipation Proclamation; how Sew
ard, recovering from his first astonish-
ment, had interposed an objection.
Things were going badly then, very badly.
1t was the darkest hour. The peninsula
campaign had met check after check.
AS Secretary of State. Seward felt that
Europe would call this a last move of
desperation. Why not hold it until the
North had a victory? To this reason
Lincoln yielded. He put it aside until
after the battle of Antietam gave the
North cause for hope.
Painter Revises Composition.
Carpenter chose that moment when
Seward, with his characteristic gesture
of the outStretched thumb and fore
finger on the table, interposed his his
f0ric objection And here being a