Tinsel Painting with Photograph of Abraham Lincoln

Reverse painting and foil on glass with photograph by Alexander Gardner. Abraham Lincoln posed in the Washington, DC, gallery of photographer Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) on August 9, 1863. Lincoln had promised to be Gardner's first sitter in the new space and chose a Sunday for his visit to avoid curiosity-seekers. The photograph is placed within a wide, elaborate, foliate tinsel-painted border. The vivid colors and bold design resemble contemporaneous upholstery executed in Berlin wools, the rococo-revival style that was inspired by early English and French tapestry designs.

Lee Kogan, "Tinsel Painting with Photograph of Abraham Lincoln," FOILED: Tinsel Painting in America (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013), 95