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Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois

A work made of platinum print.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of platinum print.

Date:

June 3, 1860, printed c. 1880

Artist:

Alexander Hesler (American, born Canada, 1823–1895)
printed by George B. Ayers (American, 1829–1905)

About this artwork

Alexander Hesler, a noted commercial photographer based in Chicago, arranged two portrait sessions with Lincoln, in 1858 and 1860. The images from their first session displayed the presidential candidate with disordered and messy hair. During the subsequent election campaign, the Republican National Committee grew concerned that Lincoln might appear unkempt compared to his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas. Hesler therefore produced this more dapper and well-groomed representation of the candidate at the second sitting, and these and similar portraits by Mathew Brady were widely distributed as badges. In this first presidential campaign to employ photographs, the decision to make Lincoln a familiar face may well have swayed voters. The artist George B. Ayers purchased Hesler’s studio in 1867, a move that saved its contents from being destroyed when the gallery burned down in the Chicago Fire of 1871. Ayers later reprinted Hesler’s glass plate negatives, claiming this image in particular as the “Original and Best Picture of Abraham Lincoln,” essential for any collector of portraits or Lincoln memorabilia.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Alexander Hesler

Title

Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1860

Medium

Platinum print

Inscriptions

Unmarked recto; inscribed verso, upper left, in graphite: "764"; verso, center, diagonally, in graphite: "235 / 7x9 / Hessl [?]"; verso, right center, in graphite: "L-16325 2 86 [underlined] / El P. Bug [?] 1/2 [encircled] 5 92 [underlined]"; verso, lower center, in graphite: "Wal [?]"

Dimensions

Image/paper: 22.7 × 17.7 cm (8 15/16 × 7 in.)

Credit Line

The Mary and Leigh Block Endowment Fund

Reference Number

1975.562

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/49356/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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