• 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.
  • 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.
  • Grand Reception at the White House, January 1862
    Alfred R. Waud
    State Floor
    engraving
    receptions
    Cabinet
    military
    Blue Room
    New Year's
    This hand-colored wood engraving by Alfred R. Waud appeared in the centerfold of Harper's Weekly on January 25, 1862. Waud made a sketch in person at the reception, which was the basis for the engraving. Abraham Lincoln, tallest man present, welcomes guests near a White House doorway during a Grand Reception in January 1862. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and his daughter Kate greet Mrs. Lincoln, while several Union Army officers fill out the scene.