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Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln
Artist
Charles Wesley Jarvis, 1812 - 1868
Sitter
Abraham Lincoln, 12 Feb 1809 - 15 Apr 1865
Date
1861
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 76.2 x 63.8 x 3.8cm (30 x 25 1/8 x 1 1/2")
Frame: 101.3 × 89.5 × 12.7cm (39 7/8 × 35 1/4 × 5")
Topic
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Costume\Jewelry\Pin
Abraham Lincoln: Male
Abraham Lincoln: Law and Crime\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
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Arpad
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.78.272
Exhibition Label
Born Hodgenville, Kentucky
Entrusted with guiding the nation through a civil war, Abraham Lincoln was beset from the start with criticism from all sides. There were those who accused him of moral cowardice when he initially insisted that the purpose of engaging in a war with the South was to preserve the Union and not to eliminate slavery. His wartime suspension of basic civil rights gave rise to charges of despotism, and when the conflict went badly for the North, the blame inevitably fell on him. But as Union forces advanced toward victory in the field, Lincoln’s eloquent articulation of the nation’s ideals and ultimate call for an end to slavery gradually invested him with a saintly grandeur. Following his assassination in 1865, that grandeur became virtually unassailable.
Nacido en Hodgenville, Kentucky
Con la encomienda de guiar a la nación en medio de una guerra civil, Abraham Lincoln se vio asediado desde un principio por críticas de todos los sectores. Hubo quienes lo acusaron de cobardía moral cuando inicialmente insistió en que la guerra con el sur era para preservar la Unión y no para eliminar la esclavitud. Cuando suspendió los derechos civiles básicos como medida de guerra, lo acusaron de despotismo, y cuando la situación se puso difícil para el norte, también la culpa recayó en él. Pero a medida que las fuerzas de la Unión avanzaban hacia la victoria, Lincoln fue adquiriendo un aura de beatífica grandeza gracias a su elocuente articulación de los ideales nacionales y su posterior exhortación a terminar con la esclavitud. A raíz de su asesinato en 1865, esa grandeza se volvió inexpugnable.
Provenance
(Michael and Vivian Arpad, Washington, D.C.); gift 1978 NPG
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view