Museum Collections
Luce Center
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Object Number:
1946.352
Date:
1865
Medium:
Painted and overpainted plaster
Dimensions:
Overall: 11 x 8 x 7 in. ( 27.9 x 20.3 x 17.8 cm )
Marks:
inscriptions: on top of head: "Abraham Lincoln/Clark Mills/1865"
inscribed: back of head: "NY....INSTITUTE/PHRENOLOGY"
inscribed: paper label on interior: "Lincoln death mask 8 -78"
Description:
Life mask cast after the original taken by Clark Mills on February 11, 1865.
Gallery Label:
This cast was part of the Phrenological Museum of Fowler & Wells, which opened in New York City in 1842. Brothers Orson Squire Fowler (1809-1887) and Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1896) and their business associate Samuel Roberts Wells (1820-1875) were noted phrenologists who read heads to understand the subject's "temperament." Their Phrenological Cabinet displaying casts, skulls, and charts became a popular fixture in the city.
Credit Line:
Purchase, General Fund
Provenance:
The Fowler Mask Collection
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.