New photography by Pat Cagney captured with a digital camera.

The Latest Photograph of President Lincoln. Taken on the Balcony at the White House, March 6, 1865

Artist Henry Franklin Warren (American, 1834 - 1895)

DateMarch 6, 1865

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsOverall: 8 1/4 x 6 in. (21 x 15.2 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

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

Object number98.32.312

Terms

U.S. Civil War
Men
Military affairs

Collections

Photography

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThe David L. Hack Civil War Photography Collection. Image of Lincoln seen from the shoulders up, facing slightly to the right side of the picture. This is from _Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War_ (Hack Collection No. 2].

Label TextHenry Franklin Warren American, 1834−1895 The Latest Photograph of President Lincoln. Taken on the Balcony at the White House, March 6, 1865, 1865 Albumen print (photograph) Henry Warren created the last known photographs of Lincoln during a short visit to Washington, D.C., in 1865. The busy president had little time for photos, but Warren was clever. Allegedly he first photographed Lincoln’s rambunctious son, Tad, at play on the White House lawn, then gave the photo to Tad as a bribe. In return for the photograph, Warren asked that the boy convince his father to pause from his work and pose. The plot succeeded, and Warren returned home to Massachusetts with a new and valuable negative. The historic importance of this image increased five weeks later with Lincoln’s assassination. Gift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange 98.32.312