Artist/Maker
Vinnie Ream
(1847–1914)
Depicted
Abraham Lincoln
(American, 1809 – 1865)
Former owner
Sophie Washington Smith
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
ca. 1865
Dark brown painted plaster
Overall: 15/16 × 7 3/8 × 6 3/8 in. (2.4 × 18.7 × 16.2 cm)
Gift of Mr. William Rutger Britton
1939.162
In 1865, when Vinnie Ream was barely eighteen years old, Abraham Lincoln was told by Congressman James Rollins that there was a "poor girl" who wished to take his likeness; the president agreed, and during the last five months of his life, Miss Ream was frequently allowed to sketch him as he worked and received associates at the White House. The artist gave this bas-relief, which was one of the products of her studies, to Mrs. Sophie Washington Smith, an aunt of the donor.
DescriptionBas-relief portrait.SignedSigned at left behind head: "By Vinnie Ream"
ClassificationsSCULPTURE
