• Mary Todd Lincoln
    Katherine Helm
    official portrait
    This oil on canvas painting of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln was painted by Katherine Helm in 1925. Katherine Helm was Mary Todd Lincoln's niece. Abraham Lincoln served as president from March 4, 1861 until his death on April 15, 1865.
  • The Republican Court in the Days of Lincoln
    Peter Frederick Rothermel
    East Room
    State Floor
    receptions
    inaugurations
    painting
    Cabinet
    This painting by Peter Frederick Rothermel depicts a fictitious formal reception in the East Room of the White House following President Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration on March 4, 1865. The painting features a number of historical figures: President Abraham Lincoln (standing to the right of the large chandelier that intersects the middle of the painting) with General Ulysses S. Grant to Lincoln's right, presenting his wife, Julia Dent Grant, to the president (in a light pink gown, shaking hands with Lincoln). First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln stands to Lincoln's left, holding a fan to the shoulder of General Winfield Scott. To the left of the chandelier, orator Edward Everett (who died in January 1865, before the scene portrayed this painting purportedly took place) is seated, and Secretary of State William H. Seward and General William Tecumseh Sherman are standing (Sherman stands between the two men, but toward the back). Rothermel was an American painter who is mostly known for his large historical paintings.
  • 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.