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Lincoln's Portrait's White House Journey Revealed
25 May
Summary
- A Lincoln painting once hung in Theodore Roosevelt's White House office.
- The artwork was gifted to Roosevelt by artist Ernest Wells in 1903.
- The painting will be displayed at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
An intriguing oil painting of Abraham Lincoln, which once hung in Theodore Roosevelt's White House office, is poised to be publicly exhibited. The portrait, created by American realist Ernest Wells in 1903, was a gift to Roosevelt, a known admirer of Lincoln.
Roosevelt often referred to the painting for guidance, reportedly asking, "What would Lincoln do?" When he departed the White House in March 1909, Roosevelt gifted the canvas to his chief disbursing officer, Col. William H. Crook.
In 1912, Crook sold the painting to J.P. Morgan, managed by his librarian Belle da Costa Greene. After Morgan's death, the painting entered private hands, eventually being purchased by Soderquist's family in 1975.
David Soderquist, the current custodian, has meticulously researched the painting's provenance. It will be a centerpiece at the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, opening on July 4, 2026.
