Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2014.

The President’s Box Inside Ford’s Theatre

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

CultureAmerican

DateApril 1865

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 9 3/4 × 7 3/4 in. (24.8 × 19.7 cm)
Overall, Support: 11 7/8 × 9 7/8 in. (30.2 × 25.1 cm)
Overall, Mat: 19 7/8 × 16 in. (50.5 × 40.6 cm)

Credit LineGift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange

Object number98.32.314

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DescriptionThe David L. Hack Civil War Photography Collection. Photograph of the interior of Ford's Theater. Balcony seats are draped with the American flag and flanked by columns of both sides. This is from _Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War_ (Hack Collection No. 2].

Label TextAlexander Gardner American, 1821−1882 The President’s Box Inside Ford’s Theatre, 1865 Albumen print (photograph) On the afternoon of April 14, 1865, the managers of Ford’s Theatre decorated the presidential box with flags, banners, and a portrait of George Washington. After shooting President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth (1838−1865) disrupted this bunting as he leapt down to the stage to flee. Authorities located Booth 12 days later at a barn in Virginia, where the assassin was shot and killed during the arrest attempt. Alexander Gardner was probably the first to photograph the assassination site, seen here. Mathew Brady was in Richmond, Va., that weekend, and by the time his team visited Ford’s Theatre, the drapery had been readjusted, as seen in the photo above. Gift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange 98.32.314 Exhibition History"Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015.