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Abraham Lincoln
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The presidential campaign of 1860 produced a great
many unflattering pictures of Abraham Lincoln, the
Republican Party candidate. One notable exception
was this watercolor miniature by John Henry Brown.
The local paper in Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield,
Illinois, called the image “a splendid picture”
and noted that under magnification, “instead
of presenting a more rugged appearance as it grows
larger, the naturalness of its expression is increased.”
In a broader, historic sense, the same could be
said of the man himself, as the nation began scrutinizing
him as a statesman. |
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John Henry Brown (1818–1891)
Watercolor on ivory, 1860
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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