Description:

Abraham Lincoln Signature With Association to His Portrait Painter

A clipped signature belonging to 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) matted below a print after the first beardless portrait painting of Lincoln (sometimes referred to as "The Youthful Lincoln") by Academy-trained portrait painter Thomas Hicks (1823-1893). Both the image and the Lincoln signature come with remarkable provenance from Eugene G. Foster, a New York City lawyer who corresponded with Robert T. Lincoln about the Hicks portrait.

The Lincoln signature, as "Yours truly / A. Lincoln," shows some expected wear including even toning and edge darkening. The sight size of the clipped signature is 3.875" x 1.125." The print of Lincoln is signed "T Hicks N.A. / 1860" in stone in the lower right corner, and is captioned, "A. Lincoln, / From An Original Painting By Thomas Hicks." The print has some scattered stains and wrinkles/possible areas of professional repair. Not examined out of the mat. The overall size of the mat is 11" x 14" x .5."

Thomas Hicks was an accomplished portrait painter who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and in Europe. Hicks was sent to Springfield, Illinois in June 1860 by the New York City publisher W.H. Schaus & Company in order to paint a likeness of Abraham Lincoln. National coverage of Lincoln had been limited prior to his nomination as the Republican Party presidential candidate in mid-May 1860, and voters were eager to know what the Illinois lawyer looked like. Hicks was one of over a dozen artists who flocked to Springfield to depict the presidential unknown during the summer and fall of 1860.

Armed with a letter of recommendation from Charles A. Dana to William H. Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, Hicks asked Lincoln to sit for a portrait. Over the course of multiple morning sittings, the portrait was finally finished on June 12-13, 1860. Hicks's portrait was the first to depict a beardless Lincoln, and the resulting image was so young and vigorous that the painting became known as "The Youthful Lincoln." Both Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln had positive reactions to the painting. Lincoln is recorded as having stated: "It will give the people of the East a correct idea of how I look at home, and, in fact, how I look in my office. I think the picture has a somewhat pleasanter expression than I usually have, but, that, perhaps is not an objection." The future First Lady is reported to have rhapsodized upon seeing the portrait: "Yes, that is Mr. Lincoln. It is exactly like him…How I wish I could keep it, or have a copy of it…"

Within a matter of months, Hicks's beardless Lincoln portrait was surpassed by Jesse Atwood's first painting of Lincoln after he had started growing whiskers.

Provenance:

The image and Lincoln signature are accompanied by an autograph note signed by Eugene G. Foster on January 24, 1933, and matted verso, reading in part: "Has Value! 1/24/33 This came to me from my partner Daniel C. Adams who had charge of the artist Hicks’ widow’s affairs and was her friend. Eugene G. Foster. I had it framed with an autograph he requested. EGF.”

Foster had corresponded with Robert T. Lincoln in April 1918 regarding the Hicks portrait, and about Orville Hickman Browning's reaction to the "exact and life-like representation of the 'human face divine'" on display in the Hicks painting.

For more information, please see the article in the September 1960 issue of "Lincoln Lore" (Fort Wayne, Indiana) entitled "Thomas Hicks' Portrait 'The Youthful Lincoln.'"

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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March 15, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
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