Portraits of President Lincoln

Presidents Day
Portraits of President Lincoln
By Cynthia Kirkeby
May 13, 2009, 13:00 PST

The Smithsonian Institute is sharing “One Life: The Mask of Lincoln” with thousands of educators across the country through an educational portfolio that is designed for middle-school and high-school students and their history and American studies’ teachers. The portfolios present 10 iconic portraits in 13-by-19-inch mini-posters, incorporating interpretive text. The portraits show the changing face of President Abraham Lincoln throughout his Presidency.

Lincoln was the first President to serve after photography truly came of age. He embraced the new technology to craft his image and keep himself in the eye of his fellow citizens. The portfolio includes the “tousled hair” portrait taken in 1857 that was used in early campaign materials and a Mathew Brady photograph taken just before Lincoln’s groundbreaking 1860 speech at the Cooper Union. The latter image is known as the “photograph that made Lincoln president.”

The portfolio, as well as additional educational resources, is available as a free download on the SITES Web site at www.sites.si.edu/lincoln.

Related Lesson Plan on President Abraham Lincoln

From the National Museum of American History (NMAH) - Grades 5-12
An Extraordinary Life

What made Abraham Lincoln “extraordinary”? Students will develop small research projects about Lincoln’s personal qualities. They will then support their ideas with Lincoln quotes, artifacts related to his life, and scholarly research. Finally, they will create and share an electronic presentation showcasing what they’ve learned.
Download the NMAH lesson plans

From the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) - Grades 4-12, U.S. History classes
Lincoln and Photography: A Closer Look
Lincoln in Richmond
The Life Masks of Lincoln
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation
Whitman and Lincoln

Download NPG lesson plans

From the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies - Grades 4-12
Abraham Lincoln: The Face of a War

In the first lesson, students take a close look at Lincoln the man, as seen in two photographs, taken in 1860 and 1865, and in two plaster “life masks,” made in the same years. This exercise in portrait analysis leads to a study of events in the years between—years that changed Lincoln drastically—and might serve as an introduction to a unit on the Civil War.

In the second lesson, students examine an eyewitness drawing of Lincoln’s arrival in the enemy capital of Richmond, Virginia, at the end of the war. As he moved among former slaves, Lincoln the person became freedom’s personification. Never before had an appearance by a president—the mere showing of his face—meant more to his audience.

Download the SCEMS lesson plans