New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.

President Lincoln Taking the Oath at His Second Inauguration, March 4, 1865

ArtistAfter Alexander Gardner (American (born Scotland), 1821 - 1882)

Publisher Harper's Weekly (American, 1825-1916)

CultureAmerican

Date1865

MediumWood engraving

DimensionsOverall, Support: 16 × 11 1/8 in. (40.6 × 28.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by the Photography Alliance

Object number91.31

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a wood engraving from a photograph by Alexander Gardner.

Label TextAfter Alexander Gardner American, 1821−1882 President Lincoln Taking the Oath at His Second Inauguration, March 4, 1865, 1865 Printed in Harper’s Weekly, vol. 9, no. 429 (March 18, 1865) Wood engraving (print) On March 4, 1865, Alexander Gardner attended Lincoln’s second inauguration, which took place on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Within two weeks, skilled printmakers at Harper’s Weekly had adapted one of Gardner’s photographs of this event for an illustration of the swearing-in ceremony. The newspaper credits Gardner as the source of this image, though the engraver partially invented the scene in order to meet the newspaper’s needs; Gardner did not actually capture any images of the president with his hand on the Bible in this oath-taking moment. Museum purchase, with funds provided by the Photography Alliance 91.31 Exhibition History"An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., Oct. 20, 1991 - Jan. 5, 1992. "Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015.Published ReferencesHARPER'S WEEKLY, Vol. 9, No. 429 (Sat., March 18, 1865). Brooks Johnson, _An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1991, 127.