Abraham Lincoln by W.F.K. Travers
The National Portrait Gallery presents W.F.K. Travers’s life-size 1865 oil portrait of Abraham Lincoln in the “America’s Presidents” exhibition. Created from life, the nine-foot-tall painting is one of only three known life-size paintings of the 16th president. It is on long-term loan from the Hartley Dodge Foundation, with the citizens of Madison, New Jersey, also credited in the presentation.
The portrait is displayed alongside Gilbert Stuart’s *Lansdowne* portrait of George Washington, reuniting works that were shown together at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The painting’s symbolism includes a reference to the Thirteenth Amendment near the Constitution and a globe positioned over Haiti, reflecting Lincoln’s support for the amendment and his recognition of Haiti as an independent nation in 1862.
When: February 10, 2023–December 31, 2027
Venue: National Portrait Gallery, second floor, South Galleries
Exhibition: “America’s Presidents”
Artist: W.F.K. Travers
Work: *Abraham Lincoln*, 1865
Medium and size: Oil on canvas; life-size, approximately nine feet tall
Loan: Long-term loan from the Hartley Dodge Foundation, courtesy of the citizens of the Borough of Madison, New Jersey
Historical note: Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, founder of the Hartley Dodge Foundation, acquired the painting from her family in the 1930s. Congress considered purchasing it for the U.S. Capitol several times during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Accessibility: A related tactile presentation offers 3D-printed copies of a Leonard Volk face mask and a pair of hands, as well as a Clark Mills face mask. It is designed to provide a more inclusive experience for blind visitors and visitors with low vision, while also being available to all visitors.
Tactile display: The tactile elements are installed beside the glass-enclosed plaster casts from 1917, which are based on Volk’s 1860 originals and Mills’s 1865 originals. The presentation includes object information in braille and audio content with guided descriptions and additional historical context.
Tactile display availability: The new tactile presentation begins February 7.
Tickets: Price not available