Portrait of Abraham Lincoln
date: label: date made
content: 1864
name: label: depicted
content: Lincoln, Abraham
label: original artist
content: Marchant, Edward Dalton
label: graphic artist
content: Sartain, John
notes: label: Description
content: Late in 1862, the Union League of Philadelphia commissioned Edward Dalton Marchant to paint Lincoln's portrait for exhibition in Independence Hall as a gesture of support for the president and the Union. Marchant engaged Philadelphia artist John Sartain to engrave the portrait, and mezzotint prints were published by Bradley and Company in 1864 to meet popular demand for the image. The original painting is part of the Union League’s collection, and the Museum owns two copies of the mezzotint print, one an early proof and this one from the standard edition.
label: Description
content: The half-length portrait depicts Lincoln seated at a table, holding a quill. A document beneath his arm reads: “Abraham Lincoln, Jan’y 1st, 1863, Will. H. Seward.” It references the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on that date. Part of a large statue is shown at the upper right, a classical figure of Liberty with a broken chain at her feet, another reference to the emancipation of the slaves.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Slavery
label: Subject
content: Politics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
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content: Communications
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content: Abraham Lincoln
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content: Art
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Holzer, Harold; Boritt, Gabor S., and Neely, Mark E., Jr.. The Lincoln Image: Abraham Lincoln and the Popular Print
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Robert L. and Wilma W. Bidwell
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.1013.01
label: catalog number
content: 1986.1013.01
label: accession number
content: 1986.1013
objectType: label: Object Name
content: print
label: Object Type
content: Mezzotint
label: Other Terms
content: print; Mezzotint; Prints
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 43.5 cm x 34 cm; 17 1/8 in x 13 3/8 in
label: Measurements
content: image: 33 cm x 25.5 cm; 13 in x 10 1/16 in