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Lincoln and His Family
- Creator:
- William Sartain, Bradley & Co., Samuel B. Waugh
- Location:
- Pennylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
- Origin Date:
- 1866
- Materials:
- paper
- Measurements:
- overall: 22 in x 28 in
- Item ID:
- 71.2009.081.1868
- Holding Institution:
- Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum
- Available for Viewing:
- No
- Category:
- Fine Art
Description
This steel engraving of the Abraham Lincoln family by William Sartain was done from a painting by American artist Samuel B. Waugh. It represents the family in a private parlor in the White House. The painting was done from photographs of individual members of the Lincoln family as the family never posed together. President Lincoln is shown seated with his left elbow resting on the table while his right hand is on Tad's shoulder. Tad, the youngest son, is shown seated on an ottoman beside his father with his left hand resting on his father's knee. Robert Lincoln is shown standing behind the table with his right hand resting on the back of a chair. Willie's portrait, the son who died during Lincoln's first term in the White House, hangs on the wall behind Robert. Mary Lincoln is seated to Robert's left with her right hand resting on the table. Bright light is coming in the window through which the Capitol dome can be seen. On the table is a vase of flowers including roses representing the North, magnolia, sweet clematis, and Virginia creeper which all bloom profusely in the South, all together in the vase of the Union representing the feeling of harmony that should exist now between the North and the South. A bust of George Washington sits close to President Lincoln representing the relationship between the "Father" of the country and the "Saviour" of the country. Part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum