Other editions of book The inner life of Abraham Lincoln: six months at the White House

Francis Bicknell Carpenter (1830 – 1900) was an American painter born in Homer, New York. Carpenter is best known for his painting First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, which is hanging in the United States Capitol. Carpenter resided with President Lincoln at the White House and in 1866 published his one volume memoir The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln:Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln.The book by Carpenter, the artist who painted "The Emancipation Proclamation," appearing within a few years after the President's death, has vitally influenced the conception of Lincoln's character held by two generations of Americans. "The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months at the White House" described the President's daily life as Mr. Carpenter knew it and was an intimate character study such as few men of the time, even among those brought into close official relations with Mr. Lincoln, were qualified to make. His book was widely read and many men and women of today can refer their first attempts to idealize the man Lincoln to the word-pictures so skillfully drawn by Mr. Carpenter, who was a writer as well as a painter.In order to paint the famous portrait, Mr. Carpenter spent six months in Washington, chiefly at the White House, carefully studying his subjects. The result was one of the most satisfactory historical portrait groups ever produced by an American artist. The painting has been reproduced as a steel engraving and has thus had wide circulation. The original canvas was purchased by Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson and presented to Congress. It now hangs in the Capitol at Washington. Mr. Carpenter wrote a popular book about his experiences in WashingtonAn artist of more or less talent—we do not know how much or how little— takes it into his head that it would be a good thing to give a portrait of Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet. He applies to several friends to aid him in carrying out his views; he gets letters of introduction to Mr. Lincoln, who readily accepts his proposition and receives him into the White House, so that he can see him at every leisure moment. Thus far all is right. The President did as he promised; his conduct towards the artist was kind and encouraging. This is not denied; on the contrary, gratitude is expressed for it.The ostensible object of the author in publishing this book is to show what a great man Mr. Lincoln was; but its real object is very different and sufficiently obvious. Next to the author himself, the chief hero of the book, is not the President, but his Secretary of State. If we are to believe Mr. Carpenter, it is to the latter we are indebted for every important step taken by the former; in short, according to our very patriotic artist-author, Mr. Lincoln was little better than a mere puppet in the hands of Mr. Seward. This information is conveyed to us very much in the spirit of, Le roi est mori; vive le roil that is, in a manner which renders it more than probable that, had Mr. Seward been the person who fell, we should have had a very different estimate from that now presented; then the guiding genius would have been, really as well as nominally, Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Seward might have been a very clever person; he would have had many great and noble qualities, but he would not have been the intellectual giant, the sagacious, far-seeing, profound, and eloquent statesman which he now is. Had he died instead of Mr. Lincoln, he could never have been President.Accordingly, not only is he lauded to the skies in this book, as casting all other statesmen and cabinet ministers of ancient and modern times into the shade, but the pettiest of his "friends" are magnified on a similar scale—persons whose only friendship for anybody is that which is based on the hope of gain, the expectation of some paltry office which may be sold or bartered like a petroleum well, or the rout of a newsboy.Originally published 1867; may contain an occasional

This insightful biography by professional painter Francis Carpenter follows the author through the White House of the Lincoln administration, where he was commissioned as an artist. Divided into chapters much like a novel, this biography gives an account of how Carpenter came to receive a coveted commission as official artist of the White House. The state dining room became his studio, and beneath a chandelier he tirelessly accomplished the artwork expected of him. The White House of Lincoln was vastly different from its modern iteration. Work was done by candlelight, and petitioners were not professional lobbyists but ordinary Americans: mothers worried sick about their sons at war, the desperate, the jobless, and the orphaned. The United States was in the throes of war and bore all the associated hardships. Perhaps most valuable of all for readers in the modern day are the conversations and observations Carpenter had with President Lincoln during his time working in the White House. The well-read President would often recite poetry and Shakespeare from memory, and recall anecdotes in conversation; although good-humored, Carpenter - as did many other acquaintances of Lincoln - noticed the President's deep seated melancholy. Published in 1866, scarcely a year after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theatre, Carpenter's was one of the first ever published biographical recollections of Abraham Lincoln's life and person. He writes with a fresh memory of the mannerisms Lincoln had in dealing with people face-to-face, how his logic and evenhanded nature defused tensions and led to solutions within and outside the White House, recalling it all with the observant nature of the painter.

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Late in 1863 a young painter named Francis B. Carpenter wished to commemorate the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. The likable and well-connected Carpenter received President Lincoln’s consent during a visit to the White House. “Well, Mr. Carpenter, we will turn you loose in here,” said Lincoln. The painter set up a studio in the state dining room and worked for months in 1864 under a lighted chandelier. It was a marvelous opportunity to observe the president and converse with him. The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln is Carpenter’s account of his experience. He watched the daily parade of petitioners who came to Lincoln’s office—worried mothers, desperate job-seekers, needy widows and orphans. He heard Lincoln’s own account of the decision to abolish slavery by proclamation, heard him recite Shakespeare, and heard him say often, “That reminds me of a story. . . .” He dealt with little Tad, gathered anecdotes from insiders, excerpted published reminiscences from former associates like William H. Herndon. He added his own impressions of the president, noting a deep melancholy underneath the famous humor. This book, originally published in 1866, struck a chord with a public hungering for intimate details about the fallen president. Carpenter’s painting, The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation before the Cabinet, was finished earlier, displayed in the rotunda of the Capitol before Lincoln’s second inauguration, and then exhibited on a northern tour. Reproductions hung in many homes, offices, and schoolrooms.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.