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
Related Object Groups
3D Model