Category: Lincoln in Art

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Lincoln in Art: Bernhardt Wall

postcard king

Bernhardt Wall was an American illustrator and lithographer. He was born in 1872 in Buffalo, New York, to German parents who had recently emigrated to the United States. Sometime before 1893, Wall moved to New York City, where he briefly studied at Art Students League before pursuing a career as a commercial lithographer. While in New York City, Wall also worked as a watchmaker and photographer.

During the Spanish-American War, Wall enlisted in the New York Volunteer Infantry. After the war, Wall lived and worked in New York City, where he designed postcards that were popular for their distinctive coloring.… Read More

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Lincoln in Art: The Leonard and Douglas Volk Collection

Leonard Volk was an American sculptor famous for making one of only two life masks of Abraham Lincoln. Volk was born in Wellstown (now Wells), New York, in 1828, and his family later moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for his father’s trade as a marble cutter. Volk joined his father in this work, and he later went to St. Louis in 1848 to study drawing and sculpture.

In 1852 Volk married Emily Clarissa King Barlow, whose cousin, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, supported Volk’s art and provided financial assistance for Volk to study in Rome. Volk settled in Chicago upon his return and opened a studio there in 1857.… Read More