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The Assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Washington D.C., April 14th, 1865

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts | CC0 1.0

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Date

1865

Artist

Published by Currier & Ives (1857-1907)

Collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Image Link

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/430813

Description

This lithograph records the shocking moment when Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. As a famous actor, Booth had free access to Ford’s Theatre and had gone there to collect his mail on April 14, when he learned of the president’s intention to attend a play that evening. Booth was the leader of a group of pro-Confederate conspirators determined to prevent the South’s defeat and, when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, they decided to kill Lincoln and other key Union leaders, hoping to destabilize the war effort and allow Confederate armies still in the field to rally. Major Henry Rathbone, who rises at left to restrain Booth, was subsequently stabbed but survived. Lincoln died the next morning. Medium: hand-coloured lithograph.

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts

Location

Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC, USA

Country

Medium

Tags

Death
Historical Events
People
Political Leaders

Category

People & Society

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform