The artwork titled “Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” created by Currier and Ives in 1865, is a historical piece belonging to the Romanticism art movement. Regarded as a history painting, the artwork captures the harrowing moment of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865.
In the artwork, the scene is set in a theater box draped with rich red curtains, accompanied by an adjacent American flag. Central to the composition is President Abraham Lincoln, depicted at the instant he is shot, with smoke emerging from the assailant’s gun. The assailant, positioned to the right, is shown brandishing the weapon, while others in the box react with expressions of shock and horror. Mrs. Lincoln is depicted seated near the President, flanked by Miss Harris and Major Rathbone, their outstretched hands signaling the gravity of the moment. The meticulous detailing conveys the dramatic tension and chaotic urgency surrounding this tragic event in American history.
