“For me, Abraham Lincoln exemplifies the possibilities of America,” David C. Ward, a historian at the National Portrait Gallery said in his gallery’s new exhibit. In celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the 16th president’s birth, the museum has unveiled “The Mask of Lincoln,” an exhibition of the mystery that lies behind the portraiture of the man.
The exhibit, inhabiting a single room in a first floor corridor of the gallery, portrays a man who over time created himself in the public’s eyes. As the exhibit mentoins, Lincoln firmly believed that there was no need to risk saying something that could be misunderstood and used against him, so this obscure and mysterious figure stayed to himself.
With photographs and paintings spanning his short career in the presidential limelight, a timeline is presented of Lincoln’s growth as a leader, depicting his rise to power and his legendary leadership of the Union during the Civil War. An early photograph by Alexander Hesler, aptly named the “Tousled Hair” portrait, depicts Lincoln in an almost adolescent state of hopefulness and youth. This small image was meant to be cut out, placed in a frame, and worn as a pin by Lincoln’s Republican Party supporters.
Watercolors, lithographs, and silver prints all reveal the developing potential of this young leader. Beyond that, though, they stand as witnesses to the massive change he underwent in the time between his election to the presidency and his inauguration into office in March. The exhibit does well to try and explain this transformation, stating what may have been behind the growth of Lincoln’s famous beard. Honest Abe’s newly acquired rugged appearance is expressed well in Thomas Le Mere’s unique standing portrait, and in Alexander Gardener’s prints of a tired but persevering leader.
Aside from the portraiture of Lincoln, an 1864 wood engraving of the Emancipation Proclamation is present as a testament to his accomplishments and as a stepping stone to the fall of the Confederacy. Southern anguish is represented well, in Adalbert John Volck’s etching “Passage Through Baltimore,” which mocks Lincoln’s timidity by hiding from the public eye for fear of an assassination attempt.
A plaster cast of Lincoln’s head is also on display in the exhibit. Leonard Volk’s interest in creating a bust of Lincoln to add to his collection of American statesman was achieved in 1860, at the beginning of Lincoln’s presidency. It is complemented by a plaster cast made in 1865 by Clark Mills at the end of his presidency, contrasting his initial bright youthfulness with that of a furrowed, aged man.
Revered as one of the greatest presidents in American history, the mystery of Lincoln may never truly unravel. But given that he was a man of few words, and that a picture is worth a thousand, this exhibit may bring us closer to understanding the thoughts and actions of this obscure figure.
The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and F Streets NW. “The Mask of Lincoln” exhibit will be in showing through July 5, 2009.
