Abraham Lincoln

Object Details

Exhibition Label

Born Hardin County, Kentucky

Looking at this cast of Abraham Lincoln’s face, which appears gaunt and careworn, one may think that it is a death mask, but in fact, it was taken from life on February 11, 1865, by sculptor Clark Mills. Life masks were popular in the nineteenth century because they created a duplicate of the subject’s features. A friend of Lincoln’s commented on the mask’s ability to portray “one on whom sorrow and care had done their worst.”

Nacido en el condado de Hardin, Kentucky

Observando esta imagen del rostro de Abraham Lincoln, en la que aparece consumido y agobiado, uno puede pensar que se trata de una máscara funeraria, pero de hecho fue tomada en vida el 11 de febrero de 1865 por el escultor Clark Mills. Los moldes del rostro eran populares en el siglo XIX porque creaban un duplicado de las facciones del modelo. Un amigo de Lincoln comentó que la máscara lograba mostrar a “alguien en quien el dolor y la preocupación habían causado devastación”.

Provenance

National Museum of History and Technology (now National Museum of American History); transferred to NPG 1971

Date

c. 1917 cast after 1865 original

Cast after

Clark Mills, 13 Dec 1810 - 12 Jan 1883

Sitter

Abraham Lincoln, 12 Feb 1809 - 15 Apr 1865

Topic

Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard

Mask\Life mask

Abraham Lincoln: Male

Abraham Lincoln: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer

Abraham Lincoln: Military and Intelligence\Soldier

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\President of US

Abraham Lincoln: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist

Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Illinois

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Surveyor

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\State Senator\Illinois

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Postmaster

Abraham Lincoln: Crafts and Trades\Boat builder

Portrait

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Exhibition

America's Presidents (Reinstallation September 2017)

On View

NPG, West Gallery 240

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Museum of American History

Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Object number

NPG.71.26

Type

Sculpture

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Medium

Plaster

Dimensions

17.1 x 20.3 x 29.8cm (6 3/4 x 8 x 11 3/4")

Record ID

npg_NPG.71.26

Metadata Usage

CC0

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm49e671628-d164-4d6e-8f74-39e90d448f47