Who is this lady?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Gene, thanks for your reply. If no one recognizes the depiction (or her husband) at first sight, it might be a harder one.Thus please don't hesitate to search the web or consult other sources!
(I begin to regret I didn't post this question on the "Stump the German" thread...)

Hint #3: You can see the original of this image in Florida.

Sorry, Roger, I only saw Gene's post. You are correct, kudos, her husband was Salvador Dalí, so you've already won half of the prize.

Ok, try to find out what painting this is. Her nom de plum will help.

[Gene C]

OK, I cheated.

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Elena Ivanovna Diakonova ?

I can't seem to find a connection to Lincoln, except this
http://shop.thedali.org/browse.cfm/linco...4,146.html

If you look at the painting from an angle, it is easier to see Lincoln.

That was a good trivia question

[Eva Elisabeth]

That was a good trivia question

Thanks, Gene! I hoped you would enjoy it a bit. And well done as well, Gala (Gala is her nom de plume) Dalí's depiction is part of her husband's painting entitled (take a deep breath):

"Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Meters becomes a Portrait of Abraham".
   
Here's some further info:
http://www.authenticsociety.com/about/Ga...ncoln_Dali

Roger and Gene, the prize is a game for long winter evenings: the original Lincoln Scrabble edition. At first sight it looks like the normal edition, but actually the goal is to arrange the words on the board like this:
   

[Eva Elisabeth]

Who is this lady?
   

[BettyO]

Mary Eunice Harlan - wife of Robert Lincoln?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Good guess, Betty, but not her.
She looks like a writer, doesn't she? Hint#1: She was a writer.

[RJNorton]

George Eliot?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Sorry, not her.
Hint#2: She was born in Virginia, but her father was a senator from Missouri.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Hint #3: Later she moved further west.
Hint #4: She was also a political activist.

[Linda Anderson]

I'm trying to think of women authors of that time. How about Willa Cather although I don't know of any connection to Lincoln.

[RJNorton]

Hint #3: Later she moved further west.

John C. Frémont was called the "Pathfinder to the West." So I will say his wife, Jesse Frémont.

(I don't have this book but it has a very reasonable price).

[Eva Elisabeth]

Kudos, Roger!! Very smart, as my first hint was a bit mean. She wrote stories for magazines and several books, mainly to support her family financially, but of course she's better known for delivering Lincoln her husband's letter defending his proclamation.

[RJNorton]

I think this should be a challenge. Who is this lady?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Very wild theory: She looks somehow catholic, and I think Spangler turned catholic in master life. Maybe his sister? (Not very logical at all, I admit.)

[RJNorton]

Very logical guess, Eva, but not correct.

Hint #1: This is a strange hint, but I think of this when I think of this person. The hint is, "This person once touched Abraham Lincoln's back."