President Lincoln, Writing The Proclamation Of Freedom – Vintage Print
(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this antique lithograph of President Lincoln, Writing The Proclamation Of Freedom. It comes from the Snapshots of the Past collection, curated over 25 years for its historical value.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
President Lincoln, Writing The Proclamation Of Freedom
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Blythe's lithograph shows Lincoln not in the formal setting of official portraits but in a cluttered study, sitting in shirtsleeves and slippers with a Bible under his left hand and the Constitution resting in his lap. The print was made from a painting by David Gilmour Blythe, a Pittsburgh artist known for his satirical and fanciful genre scenes, and it was lithographed and printed in colors in Cincinnati by Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co. Its title is slightly off: Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, and it took effect on January 1, 1863. The image has value as an early visual statement of the proclamation's moral weight, presenting it as a domestic act of conscience rather than a battlefield decision.
| Created / published | c. 1863 |
|---|---|
| Medium | print on wove paper, lithograph printed in colors, image 39.7 x 49.1 cm. |
| Notes | January 1st, 1863. Painted by David Gilmour Blythe. Lithographed and printed in colors by Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co., Cincinnati, O. Published by M. Depuy, No. 21 Wylie St., Pittsburgh. SUMMARY: A print based on David Gilmour Blythe's fanciful painting of Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Contrary to the title, the proclamation was issued in 1862 and went into effect in January 1863. In a cluttered study Lincoln sits in shirtsleeves and slippers, at work on the document near an open window. His left hand is placed on a Bible that rests on a copy of the Constitution in his lap. The scene is crammed with symbolic details and other meaningful references. A bust of Lincoln's strongly Unionist predecessor Andrew Jackson sits on a mantlepiece near the window at Lincoln's right. A bust of another former President, James Buchanan, who was widely viewed as ineffectual against secession |
| Original scan | 6,459 × 5,248 px · prints to 22 × 17 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | L-CW-3 |
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