• Abraham Lincoln’s Last Reception
    Unknown
    receptions
    State Floor
    East Room
    inaugurations
    This is a color lithograph from 1865 entitled "Abraham Lincoln's Last Reception". The lithograph depicts the reception (possibly in the East Room) following his second inauguration. The print accurately depicts First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln attending the reception. Vice President Andrew Johnson, General Ulysses S. Grant, and his wife Julia Grant did not attend the event.
  • The National Game, Three "Outs" and One "Run," Abraham Winning the Ball
    Currier & Ives
    Louis Mauer
    sports
    likeness
    caricature
    campaigns
    Congress
    drawings
    This satirical cartoon was submitted for copyright shortly before the presidential election of 1860. The cartoon depicts the political contest as a baseball game. Abraham Lincoln stands at home base on the right side of the image, advising his opponents, from left to right: former Senator John Bell, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge, who was then Vice President of the United States under President James Buchanan. The text on the men's bats and belts provides clues about their political platforms. Instead of a baseball bat, Lincoln holds a wooden rail labeled "Equal Rights and Free Territory." A skunk stands near the other candidates, signifying that they have been "skunk'd," or overwhelmingly defeated.
  • The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Before the Cabinet
    Alexander Hay Ritchie
    Second Floor
    Lincoln Bedroom
    Cabinet
    This 1866 engraving by Alexander Hay Ritchie is based on the 1864 painting by Francis Bicknell Carpenter. The widely circulated engraving depicts the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in the Cabinet Room of the White House, in what is now the Lincoln Bedroom. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863 and granted freedom to enslaved people residing in Confederate states. Those present were (from left to right): Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Interior Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of State William H. Seward, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, and Attorney General Edward Bates.
  • Marble Bust, Abraham Lincoln
    Suz Redfearn
    State Visit
    State Floor
    State Dinner
    bust
    This photograph is of a marble bust of President Abraham Lincoln, on display in the Cross Hall. The bust was displayed with low lighting for the State Dinner held in honor of French president Emmanuel Macron on April 24, 2018, during the Donald Trump administration. Suz Redfearn took this photograph for the White House Historical Association on April 23.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Bureau of Engraving and Printing
    portrait
    engraving
    This engraving of President Abraham Lincoln was produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and served from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865. Prior to becoming president, Lincoln served in the United States House of Representatives and practiced law in Springfield, Illinois. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared freedom for enslaved African Americans. He led the Union to victory over the Confederacy during the Civil War. On April 14, 1885, he became the first United States president to die by assassination when he was shot at Ford's Theater by actor John Wilkes Booth.
  • Abraham Lincoln for President
    Unknown
    campaign
    This is a campaign button from Abraham Lincoln's 1860 bid for president. The button reads "Abraham Lincoln/Free Soil & Free Men." He was elected and began his tenure as president in 1861. This was one of the earliest examples of a campaign button using a photograph.
  • Flag Raising at the White House, June 29, 1861
    Alfred R. Waud
    north view
    This sketch drawing by artist Alfred R. Waud captures the military ceremony honoring President Abraham Lincoln with the dedication of Lincoln's flagpole. The ceremony took place on the South Grounds of the White House on June 29, 1861. The event is believed to have been used as a sign of solidarity in the early days of the Civil War.
  • President Lincoln with Gen. George B. McClellan with Officers in Antietam
    Alexander Gardner
    military
    Civil War
    This photograph of President Lincoln standing among a group of soldiers during the Civil War was taken by Alexander Gardner on October 3, 1862. The photograph was taken on the grounds on the Battle of Antietam, which took place in northwestern Maryland on September 17, 1862 and is considered the bloodiest day-long battle in American history. Standing, from left to right, are: Col. Delos B. Sacket, I.G.; Capt. George Monteith; Lt. Col. Nelson B. Sweitzer; Gen. George W. Morell; Col. Alexander S. Webb, Chief of Staff, 5th Corps.; Gen. George B. McClellan; Scout Adams; Dr. Jonathan Letterman, Army Medical Doctor; unknown soldier; President Lincoln; Gen. Henry J. Hunt; Gen. Fitz-John Porter; unknown soldier; Col. Frederick T. Locke, A.A.G.; Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys; Capt. George Armstrong Custer. The original photograph was a glass negative, wet collodion print.
  • Abraham Lincoln and Sojourner Truth
    R. D. Bayley
    portrait
    abolition
    This painting of President Abraham Lincoln was created by R. D. Bayley. The painting depicts Lincoln showing abolitionist Sojourner Truth a bible gifted to him by African Americans from Baltimore, Maryland. Bayley completed the painting on October 29, 1864. The image of the painting is mounted on a cabinet card.
  • Abraham Lincoln and Tad Look at an Album
    Anthony Berger
    First Family
    This photograph of President Abraham Lincoln and Tad Lincoln was taken on February 9, 1864 by photographer Anthony Berger of the Brady Studio in Washington, D.C. In this portrait photograph, President Lincoln and his youngest son look at an album of preeminent photographer Mathew Brady's photographs.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Alexander Gardner
    portrait
    This portrait photograph of President Abraham Lincoln was taken by Alexander Gardner. Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and served from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865. Though Gardner is credited with taking this photograph on November 8, 1863, it was later printed and copyrighted in 1900 by M.P. Rice of Washington, D.C.
  • President Lincoln Seated
    Alexander Gardner
    portrait
    This portrait photograph of President Abraham Lincoln was taken by Alexander Gardner on August 9, 1963. The photograph is one from a series taken of President Lincoln just prior to the opening of Gardner's new gallery. Lincoln is holding his glasses in his right hand.
  • Tad Lincoln on Horseback
    Unknown
    First Family
    This drawing of Thomas Lincoln, commonly referred to as Tad, was inspired by a nearly identical photograph of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln's youngest child astride his pony. In this depiction, however, President Lincoln has been added to the background, watching over his son. The original piece was a carte de viste.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Jeno Juszko
    portrait
    sculpture
    This bronze statue of President Abraham Lincoln was created by Hungarian American sculptor Jeno Juszko in 1925. Juszko was well-known for his portrait sculptures and busts, capturing lifelike representations of religious, political, and military leaders throughout his career. This sculpture was made at the American Art Foundry located in New York.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Gutzon Borglum
    likeness
    sculpture
    busts
    This bronze bust of President Abraham Lincoln was created by American sculptor Gutzon Borglum, formally known as John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, in 1908. The large bust is installed atop a tall, white, stone pillar and has historically been displayed in a niche in the East Garden Room, visible to public visitors and guests as they enter the White House through the East Wing. Borglum was also famous for his work on Stone Mountain and Mount Rushmore.
  • Abraham Lincoln: Last Sitting Before His Assassination
    Alexander Gardner
    portrait
    This portrait photograph of President Abraham Lincoln was taken by Alexander Gardner, likely on February 5, 1865. This photograph is from the last series of images taken of President Lincoln, previously thought to have been taken on April 10, 1865, just four days before his assassination at Ford's Theater. Subsequent research has discovered the more likely date of creation to have been February.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Charles H. Humphriss
    portrait
    sculpture
    This bronze bas-relief of President Abraham Lincoln was created by sculptor Charles H. Humphriss in 1912. The bas-relief was created at Roman Bronze Works, a foundry located in New York. Humphriss was a sculptor known for his work with Native American subjects.
  • Assassination of President Lincoln
    Currier & Ives
    assassination
    This lithograph print of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln was published by Currier & Ives in 1865. The assassination of President Lincoln by actor John Wilkes Booth occurred on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. while "Our American Cousin", a play, was being performed. Seated in the Presidential Box along with President Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln were their guests, Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancé, Clara Harris. Maj. Rathbone, at left, is seen standing, confronting the assassin as he fatally shoots the president. Rathbone was stabbed during while attempting to capture Booth. The print was a popular seller at the time and was framed and hung or placed in scrapbooks in many homes.
  • Abraham Lincoln & General Scott Review Volunteer Troops
    Alfred R. Waud
    military
    Civil War
    This sketch was drawn in 1861 by Alfred R. Waud, an artist and illustrator who worked as a correspondent during the Civil War. The drawing was done on green paper using pencil and Chinese white, a white pigment used in watercoloring. In the drawing, President Abraham Lincoln and General Winfeld Scott review volunteer troops parading down Pennsylvania Avenue. President Lincoln and Scott stand under a tent erected outside the North Grounds of the White House, perhaps the first reviewing stand built near the White House grounds.
  • President Lincoln and His Cabinet in Council at the White House
    Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
    Cabinet
    This wood engraving print of President Abraham Lincoln meeting with his Cabinet was published in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" on March 30, 1861. The purpose of the Cabinet meeting, just weeks into President Lincoln's first administration, was to evaluate the developing situation at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Fort Sumter would be the location of the first shots of the American Civil War and play an important role in the prolonged Union siege of Charleston.
  • The Visit: A War Worker Calls for a Favor, Late 1862
    Peter Waddell
    Civil War
    This oil painting of President Abraham Lincoln was made around 2007 by artist Peter Waddell. The painting depicts Mary Livermore's meeting with Lincoln in the White House in late 1862. Livermore, a women's rights advocate and abolitionist, came to the White House to request a handwritten copy of the Emancipation Proclamation to auction off for a charity event being held by the United States Sanitary Commission, a relief agency who worked to support hurt and sick soldiers during the Civil War. Lincoln obliged Livermore's request and his copy of the Proclamation netted the Commission $3,000. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln would sign the Emancipation Proclamation from the large wooden table seen in Waddell's depiction. In the painting, Lincoln meets with Livermore in his Cabinet Room and office, located on the Second Floor of the White House. The room would be renamed the Lincoln Bedroom by President Harry S. Truman after the Truman renovation of 1948-1952. ***Interior use only for publications***
  • Lincoln's Second Inaugural, 1865
    Allyn Cox
    inauguration
    This mural depicting President Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 was painted by artist Allyn Cox. The center scene in the mural shows President Lincoln on the steps of the East Portico of the just-completed United States Capitol. Seated behind Lincoln is Vice President Andrew Johnson and standing next to Johnson is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Salmon P. Chase. This historical image of the inauguration is buttressed by a painting of a Civil War-era soldier on the left, symbolizing sacrifice in the name of freedom and reunification, and an African American voter on the right, reinforcing the strength of the 15th Amendment and the right of African American men to vote. This mural resides in the Cox Corridors of the Capitol. Cox painted numerous murals throughout the Capitol and completed the "Frieze of American History" in the Capitol Rotunda that was originally started by Constantino Brumidi in 1878.
  • President Lincoln and Gen. George B. McClellan at Antietam
    Alexander Gardner
    military
    Civil War
    This photograph of President Abraham Lincoln and Major General George B. McClellan was taken by Alexander Gardner on October 3, 1862. President Lincoln and Gen. McClellan sit under a tent on the grounds of the Battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862 in northwestern Maryland and is considered the bloodiest day-long battle in American history. The original photograph was an albumen silver print and was published by Mathew Brady.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Charles Henry Niehaus
    portrait
    sculpture
    This bronze bust of President Abraham Lincoln was made by American sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus in the late 19th century. Niehaus was an eminent sculptor known for his representations of politicians including, among others, William McKinley, James Garfield, and Henry Clay. Several of his statues reside in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol and his bust of President Benjamin Harrison is also a part of the White House Collection.
  • The Lincoln Family
    Thomas Kelly
    First Family
    This lithograph print of the Lincoln family was made by Thomas Kelly of New York. Prints of President Lincoln and his family were popular during his administration, in particular this color lithograph, which has hung in the Lincoln Sitting Room in the past. Featured in the lithograph are President Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and three of their sons, (from left to right) Tad, Robert, and Willie.