The Assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Washington D.C., April 14th, 1865
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Washington D.C., April 14th, 1865
- Publisher: Currier & Ives (American, active New York, 1857–1907)
- Sitter: Abraham Lincoln (American, Hardin County, Kentucky 1809–1865 Washington, D.C.)
- Sitter: Mary Todd Lincoln (American, Lexington, Kentucky 1818–1882 Springfield, Massachusetts)
- Sitter: John Wilkes Booth (American, Bel Air, Maryland 1838–1865 Port Royal, Virginia)
- Sitter: Henry Reed Rathbone (American, 1837–1911)
- Sitter: Clara Hamilton Harris (American, 1834–1883)
- Date: 1865
- Medium: Hand-colored lithograph
- Dimensions: Image: 7 13/16 × 12 1/8 in. (19.8 × 30.8 cm)
Sheet (irregular): 10 1/16 × 13 15/16 in. (25.6 × 35.4 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Bequest of Adele S. Colgate, 1962
- Object Number: 63.550.457
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Currier & Ives
1884
Currier & Ives
1859
Currier & Ives
1857–71
Currier & Ives
1857–71
Currier & Ives
1868–78
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.