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This painting depicts the upper body of a man in a seated position, facing us. He has pale skin, a prominent nose, deep-set eyes, and a neutral expression. His dark hair is styled back, and his dark beard is neatly trimmed. He is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black bow tie. The brown background is lighter near the center of the painting and darker near the edges.
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This painting depicts the upper body of a man in a seated position, facing us. He has pale skin, a prominent nose, deep-set eyes, and a neutral expression. His dark hair is styled back, and his dark beard is neatly trimmed. He is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black bow tie. The brown background is lighter near the center of the painting and darker near the edges.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Abraham Lincoln

American 19th Century

Date
c. 1864 or after
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 76.2 x 63.6 cm (30 x 25 1/16 in.) framed: 101.9 x 90.2 x 8.9 cm (40 1/8 x 35 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1947.17.67
Credit line
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CAB
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • American
  • male
  • portrait
  • American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II [M-Z]
  • Lincoln, Abraham
Provenance

Hiram Burlingham, New York; (his estate sale, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., New York, 11 January 1934, no. 61);[1] purchased by Andrew W. Mellon [1855-1937], Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; his estate; deeded 8 March 1938 to the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1947 to NGA. [1] The _Lincoln_ portrait was listed as no. 61 in the sale catalogue where Effingham Schieffelin and Samuel P. Avery, Jr., both of New York, respectively, were listed as its previous owners. It was illustrated in a sale notice in _The Art News_ 32 (6 January 1934), 10.

NGA object ID 34115. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.