Did Vinnie Ream visit the White House daily for 5 months?

[L Verge]

(02-04-2017 07:23 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  If the visits did take place then I think Mary Lincoln never knew about them. This link includes a letter Mary wrote to Vinnie.

H. Donald Winkler writes, "Ward Hill Lamon, the U.S. Marshall for Washington, arranged a new passage for Lincoln to enter his office unseen. It helped to ensure his safety. It was also used by Ream, and it kept the sittings secret from Mary."

Maybe I am misreading the lines in the book about Vinnie, but it appears that Vinnie was still trying to get a commission from Congress to do the sculpture in 1866, when writing to Mary Lincoln. IF (and I'm thinking it is a big "if") she ever visited with President Lincoln, maybe it was just to discuss the project with him and do preliminary drawings?

Does Winkler give a citation for his source? Also, has anyone read James Conroy's new book on Lincoln's White House? Does it have a clue for us to follow?