“One Life: The Mask of Lincoln”

In this online Keynote address based on a current exhibition of the same name at the National Portrait Gallery, historian and exhibition curator David C. Ward examines how Abraham Lincoln used the new art of photography to convey his image to Americans, letting them see in him what they most desired. Like the exhibit, Ward’s session draws on the Portrait Gallery’s extensive collection of Lincoln portraits, a collection that charts Lincoln’s passage from a fresh-faced Illinois congressman to his grizzled isolation as president. The session will be of interest to teachers and students of history at any level, and to anyone who is intrigued by the power of images and the media to “brand” ideas, connect with people, and move public opinion. What we can learn from Lincoln’s use of imagery is especially relevant today, and this presentation will provide many faces of Lincoln for participants to ponder.

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