Object Details
Cast after
Clark Mills, 13 Dec 1810 - 12 Jan 1883
Sitter
Abraham Lincoln, 12 Feb 1809 - 15 Apr 1865
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
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Museum of American History
Date
1865 (cast c. 1917)
Object number
NPG.71.26
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
17.1 x 20.3 x 29.8cm (6 3/4 x 8 x 11 3/4")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
America's Presidents - Current
On View
NPG, West Gallery 240
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Mask\Life mask
Abraham Lincoln: Male
Abraham Lincoln: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Abraham Lincoln: Military and Intelligence\Soldier
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\President of US
Abraham Lincoln: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Environmentalist
Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\US Congressman\Illinois
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Surveyor
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\State Senator\Illinois
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Postmaster
Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Tradesman\Boat builder
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.71.26
