Abraham Lincoln Research Site
<< Back

THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN LIFE

For many years after Abraham Lincoln's assassination a series of photographs taken by Alexander Gardner were considered the last ones. These photographs were allegedly taken on Monday, April 10, 1865. 

However, this information is incorrect. (The Library of Congress photograph to the right is the "traditional" last Lincoln pose for Gardner. For James Nance's beautiful color print of Gardner's photograph please CLICK HERE.) According to Lincoln's secretaries, John Hay and John Nicolay, the actual last photographs were taken on the White House's south portico by photographer Henry F. Warren of Waltham, Massachusetts. This information is stated in their Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln which was published in 1894.

Also, Matthew Wilson's diary states that the Gardner photographs were actually made on Sunday, February 5, 1865. Wilson was a portrait painter who had accompanied Lincoln to Gardner's studio so Lincoln could provide a model for a portrait Wilson painted afterwards. Historian Harold Holzer has also verified the February 5th date as being the correct one.

The picture at the top of the page is one of those made by Warren on the White House's south portico during the late afternoon of Monday, March 6, 1865. Warren took three pictures: one of Lincoln standing and two sitting. The seated poses were made on a chair which Lincoln himself carried out and placed on the portico. One of those is pictured at the top. The standing pose is lost. The original negatives from all three poses are lost. Lincoln's ruffled hair is at least partially due to the wind on the portico. The Warren photograph is from the Lloyd Ostendorf collection.

I would like to thank Stephen Shafer who suggested the idea for this page. Mr. Shafer wrote me in September 1997 and alerted me to the error in so many Lincoln books, especially the earlier ones. Thank you!

Sources: Lincoln in Photographs: An Album of Every Known Pose by Charles Hamilton and Lloyd Ostendorf and A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours by W. Emerson Reck.

On March 10, 2009, collector Keya Morgan announced the discovery of another "last" photo that arguably shows Lincoln in front of the White House.
 
 

This is not a commercial website. None of the photographs and artwork exhibited herein are being sold by the webmaster. Some photographs and artwork are believed to be in the public domain. Any copyrighted photographs and artwork are used in the context of this website strictly for educational, research and historical purposes only, under the "Fair Use" provisions of the Copyright Act, (US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair Use Section 107). Anyone claiming copyright to any of the posted photographs or artwork please inform the webmaster of such and it will be duly noted or removed.

This page is part of the Abraham Lincoln Research Site. Questions, comments, corrections or suggestions can be sent to
R. J. Norton, the creator and maintainer of this site. All text except reprinted articles was written by the webmaster, ©1996-2019. All rights reserved. It is unlawful to copy, reproduce or transmit in any form or by any means, electronic or hard copy, including reproducing on another web page, or in any information or retrieval system without the express written permission of the author. The website was born on December 29, 1996.

Web design by Andrew Patel.

Visitor count for the Abraham Lincoln Research Site since December 29, 1996:

Site Stats