GDG- A. Lincoln, August 16, 1860

[Dennis Lawrence]

Lincoln sits for J. Henry Brown, artist, in Capitol library.


Hello,

     You can view this painting at 
http://www.npg.si.edu/docs/aappresidents.pdf  (Slow loading pdf file.)

Abraham Lincoln
By no stretch of the imagination could Abraham Lincoln be considered 
handsome, and
during the 1860 presidential campaign, some of his backers even feared that his
homeliness might cost him votes. That prospect so worried one supporter in
Pennsylvania that he hired artist John Henry Brown to paint the prototype for a
campaign portrait of Lincoln. He instructed Brown to make it "good looking 
whether
the original should justify it or not." The mandate to prettify resulted in 
this miniature,
painted in part from life sittings in Springfield, Illinois, in August 
1860. The likeness
pleased all concerned, and engravings of it were soon being marketed to the 
public.
John Henry Brown (1818-1891)
Watercolor on ivory, 1860
NPG.75.11
Exhibition script #AP051
Sight: 11.7 x 8.9cm (4 5/8 x 3 1/2")
Frame: 14.3 x 11.4 x 1.1cm (5 5/8 x 4 1/2 x 7/16")

There are also many other interesting photos and paintings up for 
"adoption" by the Smithsonian http://www.npg.si.edu/giving/adopt.htm

Who inspires you? Who is your personal hero? The National Portrait Gallery 
is offering donors an opportunity to Adopt-A-Portrait from a select list of 
works on exhibit when the museum reopens on July 1, 2006. More than 300 
portraits in the Portrait Gallery's reopening exhibitions are available to 
view and adopt when you join the Adopt-A-Portrait program. Adoptions are 
available for $10,000 payable over five years.





Take Care

Dennis