Museum Collections
Luce Center
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Object Number:
1946.349
Date:
1860
Medium:
White painted plaster
Dimensions:
Overall: 10 3/4 x 8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. ( 27.3 x 21 x 15.9 cm )
Marks:
inscribed: on interior in pencil: "A. Lincoln."
paper label: "Lincoln mask/5 - 78"
Description:
Life mask after the original cast by Leonard Volk.
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.