Chair in which President Lincoln Sat when Assassinated
Primary TitleExecution of Assassins
Primary TitleTraps Sprung
Artist
Alexander Gardner
(American, born Scotland, 1821 - 1882)
Date1865
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsImage and sheet (top): 3 5/16 × 3 3/16 inches (8.41 × 8.1 cm)
Image and sheet (left): 2 15/16 × 3 7/8 inches (7.46 × 9.84 cm)
Image and sheet (right): 2 15/16 × 3 7/8 inches (7.46 × 9.84 cm)
Mount: 13 1/16 × 17 13/16 inches (33.18 × 45.24 cm)
Image and sheet (left): 2 15/16 × 3 7/8 inches (7.46 × 9.84 cm)
Image and sheet (right): 2 15/16 × 3 7/8 inches (7.46 × 9.84 cm)
Mount: 13 1/16 × 17 13/16 inches (33.18 × 45.24 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.3214.A-C
Signednone
InscribedOn mount recto, bottom, in black type: "CHAIN IN WHICH PRES. LINCOLN SAT WHEN ASSASSINATED, / EXECUTION OF ASSASSINS, TRAPS SPRUNG"
MarkingsOn top image recto, lower left, in black pen: "3405";
On mount recto, upper left corner, in pencil: "23";
On mount verso, bottom, in pencil: "432-6-97";
On mount verso, lower right, in pencil: "A615 / me.9" , "76:028:3", "P5.432.006.97".
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThree individual prints mounted on one board. Top image is of a tufted rocking chair ; Lower two images are of a public hanging (Lincoln conspirators).Gallery LabelThe U. S. Secret Service called upon Alexander Gardner to photograph the hanging of those convicted for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The upper photograph depicts Lincoln’s chair. The lower two images from the execution series depict the moments before and after the traps sprang. Visible in a white waistcoat and hat, Captain Christian Rath served as the chief executioner and designed the gallows himself.
Though Gardner retained his negatives with the hope of selling prints, the public, weary of war, had little appetite for the images for many years. This unique presentation was likely compiled around 1882.
Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY;
Purchased from Howard Greenberg Gallery by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1997;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Purchased from Howard Greenberg Gallery by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1997;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
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