Abraham Lincoln

by Jordan Henderson

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Price

$175

Dimensions

18.000 x 24.000 inches

Title

Abraham Lincoln

Artist

Jordan Henderson

Medium

Drawing - Charcoal

Description

A tall stove pipe hat and a beard – these are what we associate with Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States who served from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

But in the same way Lincoln had a career as a politician and lawyer before he was president, he also once had a face without a beard, and that is what I have chosen to draw in charcoal -- my interpretation based upon a photo taken both before his presidency and before that he grew that iconic beard.

It’s a reminder to us that we change through time, not only physically, but in how we believe and how we act. It is hoped that those changes are positive ones. That is, if we pursue honesty and goodness in our younger years, we will continue to do so as we are older, growing deeper and wiser and better as we age. Conversely, and sadly, we can also go the other way, choosing greed and the pursuit of money and power at the expense of the lives and well being as others in our younger years, and falling deeper and further into that hole as we grow older. We have many, presidents and non-presidents, who choose that course.

History and historians differ on which direction Lincoln actually took, with junior high and high school textbooks strongly advocating for what almost looks like sainthood on Lincoln’s part. (But even those who admire the man have to admit that no human being is ever, really, a saint.)

As an interesting aside, Lincoln got his nickname, Honest Abe, as a description of contrast between him and his presidential predecessor, James Buchanan, the latter who was not known for his honesty and integrity. (This according to James Loewen in his excellent book, Lies Across America, What Our Historic Sites Got Wrong.)

Abe Lincoln wasn’t a saint, and he wasn’t a devil. But he was a human being who was given extraordinary opportunity to do good, as are we all.

Uploaded

July 15th, 2020

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