preschool with gustave

Mary Todd Lincoln supposedly commissioned Francis Bicknell Carpenter, an admired painter who had once lived in the White House, to paint her portrait as a surprise for President Lincoln. He died, however, before Mrs. Lincoln could present it to him. 

Images of the painting, which was discovered in 1929, have been included in biographies, The Chicago Tribune, and National Geographic.

Recently, though, when sent to be restored by a conservator, the painting was found to be a fraud. 

The portrait underneath is of an unknown woman, painted in a different style. Around her neck hangs a cross, which the Protestant First Lady would not have worn. The brooch with the president’s picture was added later, and disappeared when paint was removed. Also, Mrs. Lincoln had always disliked that particular photo because of “the disordered condition of his hair.”

Compare the two portraits

Source: The New York Times